Last night, the first two Broadway musicals returned to in-person performances, as New York’s stages begin to reopen and welcome back audiences after 18 months in the dark. The first show is a revival of the 2016 Tony-nominated musical Waitress, which will play a limited engagement through January 9, with creator Sara Bareilles headlining the cast through October 17. The second show is the 2019 Tony-winning musical Hadestown, including its Tony-winning featured actor André De Shields as Hermes. On September 14, the next group of Broadway musicals is scheduled to return, including Tony winners Chicago, Hamilton, The Lion King, and Wicked.
After its show, the cast of Hadestown took to the balcony of the Walter Kerr Theatre to celebrate its first night back, leading the crowd in a sing-along of “Lean on Me.”
At the curtain call of her show’s reopening run, Waitress composer Sara Bareilles invited Amanda Kloots, widow of original cast member Nick Cordero, to join the company on stage to perform Cordero’s song “Live Your Life.”