And we would have missed the show , but for a little magic!

I recently did a full immersion Broadway Spring Break Weekend with a dear friend. Our group trip was organized by Custom Travel Insider for Broadway Across America, and the clear message was “Broadway is Back”! But everything about our trip was touched in some way by Covid 19, from flights, to restaurants to rules inside the theaters.

Starting with extensive delays to our 40 minute “shuttle flight” from Boston to NYC, because of weather and uneven staffing levels due to Covid 19, we waited more than two and half hours to depart, boarded, were held at the gate because LaGuardia airport closed to new departures. No sweat we thought…we had planned a 6 hour buffer between our flight time and our first tour activity. The doors closed again and we headed out to the tarmac, only to be told again that for safety, LaGuardia had closed, and we sat watching our 6 hour buffer between flight and 7 PM curtain melt away. Finally after 5 PM we were able to take off and arrived at 6 PM. Mentally, we began regrouping, knowing we’d miss a dinner, hoping we could still make curtain for our shoe Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, but that it would take a bit of magic straight out of Hogwarts to make it happen!

Fortunately, Custom Travel Insider had provided a driver who was waiting for us when we left the airport, we grabbed our carry on bags,dahsed through the crowds of delayed passengers waiting to board, and ran in the rain to find the driver and explained our predicament. It was 6:10 PM and we had to get to Midtown Manhattan, on a rainy evening…at rush hour. No sweat, right? We would need to check in at the hotel to pick up the tickets left for us by Larry at Custom Travel. My GPS said 56 minutes, we had only 50 minutes, but maybe we could “Apparate”?

Our driver did everything short of waving a wand to get us about a half a block away from the hotel at 6:45! He explained if he dropped us at the door, it was another 20 minute drive around the gridlocked block. He pulled to the curb and suggested we jump out and make a run for the hotel. Did I mention it was pouring rain?!

We made a run for the hotel, dodging puddles and umbrella toting New Yorkers. After a day of terrible travel luck, the front desk was empty with a concierge just waiting to check us in, grab our bags to bring to the room and hand off our Harry Potter tickets. “Run!” He told us, “you can make it! It’s half a block! “ And run we did, arriving at the entrance of the Lyric theater with just enough time to run to the Ladies room as they called “five minutes to showtime” over the PA.

Luckily for us, (other than more flight delays to return home!) the rest of our Broadway trip went off without a hitch thanks to the hard work of Larry and Paige at CTI and the lively and engaged group of fellow travelers from all over the country.

Our trip included, airfare, (or credit) transfers, 3 nights hotel in the heart of Broadway, two group meals, and a special NYC tour. The package included three tickets per person to top Broadway shows from a selection of top shows, and we had excellent seats for each show we selected.

The special events and meals organized by CTI really was the icing on the cake On the morning of our first day in town, we selected a walking tour of Broadway theaters led by the owner and founder of Broadway Up Close, Tim Dolan. Tim’s unique Broadway Beginnings Tour, took us to the oldest theaters in Broadway and was chock full of entertaining and well researched tales of the theaters and their eccentric owners, stars and the occasional ghost!

Tim’s unique business model is also a project to help employ actors between jobs to lead tours and make hand crafted souvenirs that they sell at their kiosk right in Times Square by the TKTS booth. These tours and making and selling souvenirs kept many actors afloat while they waited for theaters to open again after Covid 19 closures. Most of what you can buy in NYC as souvenirs are made in China, so even if you don’t take a tour, check out their kiosk for locally made souvenirs!

Another unique event was lunch at Carmines where we were treated to a 4 course family style luncheon of salads, pastas, meat, fish and desserts and the opportunity to have a Q&A with two working actors on Broadway Shows.

We had a lively discussion with Sheldon Henry of the Tina cast and Oge Agulue of the HP and the Cursed Child cast, about life as a Broadway actor. They shared the level of professionalism required of most of the actors (many who have BFA’s and MFA’s) and the physical challenges of doing eight shows a week!

Our actors described their important roles as “swings” -the actors who do not appear regularly, but have to be prepared to substitute for any of several roles for an actor who misses a show. These swing actors are onstage now more than ever because of Covid 19. With regular testing, many of the actors will test positive for Covid 19 and have to stay out for almost a week. Every Playbill we received for our shows had at least one “swing” actor listed, and they’ve been described as the “unsung heros” of Broadway’s reopening. However, be prepared that shows with big stars or multiple infections in the cast could close entirely for a few days. For instance Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick’s Plaza was closed during out visit due to Covid 19. My advice: if you have your heart set in a big star, buy your tickets last minute, if you can. But is also important to remember that with the professionalism of the casts of most ensemble shows, you would hardly notice whether there has been a substitution, and it won’t affect your experience!

As for our experience INSIDE the theaters, we were notified well in advance that the current rules required

• proof of full vaccination, card or electronic

• photo identification to prove you match your vaccine card

• masking inside the theater except for taking a sip or bite. employees with “mask up” signs will monitor this, and we saw nearly 100% compliance, although some small percentage of folks lower their masks during the show.

Of course, rules can change at any time, so always read the information provided with your ticket or package purchase.

As for dining, NYC had relaxed vaccination requirements and masking while we were visiting, not requiring either. We were able to make several reservations on Open Table during our early April trip, and this allowed us to dine at quiet times before or after a show and the big dinner rush.

What we learned during our trip to Broadway was that while Covid 19 has changed some of the rules and the ways theaters work, Broadway is back, and it’s wonderful to be gathering with others to experience live theater again!

Article and Photos by Kathleen Klofft