Broadway To Sandy: The Show Is Back On
One of New York's biggest economic engines reopened on Wednesday after being dark in the wake of Superstorm Sandy. Broadway brings in more than $1 billion in annual ticket sales and billions more in revenue from hotels, restaurants and other businesses in the Times Square area. But getting Broadway running, with much of the transportation system down, required some extreme measures.
Charlotte St. Martin is president of The Broadway League, the association of Broadway theaters and producers. Her commute from Manhattan normally takes 15 or 20 minutes. On Wednesday, it took an hour and a half.
"There are very few times that Broadway goes dark," St. Martin says. "There's this amazing tradition with Broadway, it's probably been in place for over 100 years — we all believe the show must go on. It's just got to go on. When Sept. 11 occurred, Mayor [Rudolph] Giuliani said 'You've got to get Broadway back up; it's a symbol of New York.' "
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