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NEW YORK (AP) – Jawan M. Jackson recently had to do something he’s been yearning to do for months – sing and dance again with his Broadway cast.
Jackson is one of the stars of “Ain’t Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations” and he reunited with his castmates for the first time since theaters closed to prepare for Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade on Thursday.
“I was very happy to see all my old friends that I hadn’t seen for months, some who came specifically for the show to do this,” he said. “It was different, but it was still great to do.”
The pandemic, which closed theaters in March, may have turned most traditions upside down this holiday season, but New York City’s annual parade will continue with balloons, dancers, floats, dance performances. Broadway and Santa Claus – although heavily edited for safety.
“Traditions like this are heartwarming and uplifting,” said Susan Tercero, executive producer of the show. “New York has always been a difficult city. It bounces back. He takes his punches and then he continues. And I think it’s extremely important for us to be this display this holiday season. Regardless of what happened, New York has to be that beacon of light in the dark and this parade, I think, is a symbol of that.
The Macy’s Parade has been a traditional kick-off to the holiday season for over 90 years, and spectators often line up a half-dozen deep along the road to cheer on about 8,000 marchers, two dozen floats, artists and bands. At last year’s parade, the big fear was the strong wind. This time, it was a pandemic that made the crowds untenable.
The biggest change this year is that the usual 2 1/2 mile route through crowded Manhattan has been scrapped in favor of concentrating events on a one-block stretch of 34th Street past the flagship store of the retailer in Manhattan. Many performances have been pre-recorded and most of the parade performers will be locally based to reduce travel.
In addition to “Ain’t Too Proud,” the parade will feature performances from the Broadway castings of “Hamilton”, “Mean Girls” and “Jagged Little Pill,” a musical built around the music of Alanis Morissette. The Broadway performances were taped days before the parade.
Things felt a lot different for actor Derek Klena, who was at the 2017 runway show as part of the “Anastasia” cast. This year, he is nominated for the Tony Awards for his role in “Jagged Little Pill” and helped perform “You Learn” from the Tony nominated show.
The cast were quarantined for two weeks before recording and tested regularly for the virus. The cast members rehearsed in masks until the cameras began to roll and remain socially distant. They sang live this time around instead of years past when the throws were lip-synced.
“Although the circumstances were very different, it was always so magical and rewarding to share this experience with your cast mates after being distant for so long,” said Klena.
“I think it was important for everyone to find a way to celebrate this event again and to celebrate the shows and the companies that are all participating in this amazing event.”
Jackson and Klena both said everyone adhere to the show’s strict safety protocols – enforcing the 6-foot rule, frequent testing, and requiring face masks plus face shields, as well as a fresh mask after they pass. performance. “I like it because it’s designed to protect you,” Jackson said, noting that “dancing with a mask is a tough feat.”
This year’s balloon lineup includes Snoopy, “Diary of a Wimpy Kid”, “The Elf on the Shelf”, Chase from “Paw Patrol”, Pikachu, the Pillsbury Doughboy, Ronald McDonald, SpongeBob SquarePants and “Trolls”. New this time are “The Boss Baby” and Red Titan from “Ryan’s World”.
The giant cartoon character balloons will be flown without the traditional 80-100 handlers assigned to each inflatable and instead be attached to specialized vehicles.
Pentatonix, Ally Brooke, Keke Palmer, Sofia Carson, Leslie Odom Jr. and Jordin Sparks will perform, and there will be tanks from “Blue’s Clues”, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and Lego. There will be a New York City Ballet ballerina with a performance by “The Nutcracker”, an all-female samba drums and acrobats from “The Big Apple Circus”, and the Rockettes will be out in force. The parade ends with an apparition of Santa Claus.
Another change this year was the decision to spotlight many of the New York City parades that were canceled in the spring and fall due to the pandemic – the St. Patrick’s Day Parade, the Parade of mermaids, the Puerto Rican Day Parade and the New York Pride March.
“We’re going to showcase them and we’re really going to give them a chance to shine,” Tercero said. “You’re going to be able to see the creativity of this entertainment come to life that’s sort of dormant for the past seven months.”
For Broadway artists, there is a silver lining to this year’s changes. Usually on Thanksgiving Day they were freezing in Midtown, waking up at dawn and dancing and singing for hours. This year, they look at each other in the warmth of their apartments, a job well done.
“This is the first Thanksgiving in a few years that I don’t have a show or record something,” Klena said. “So it’ll be pretty fun just celebrating with some of my friends here in town and my wife.”
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Mark Kennedy is at http://twitter.com/KennedyTwits
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