When the city shut down

Back to Broadway after a two-year delay

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File photo

Sharlese Edwards and John Melendez mimic workers.

John Melendez, front left, first attended the Manhattan Theatre Club as a freshman.

It seems like yesterday when I was a freshman when I got to see two Broadway plays at the Manhattan Theatre Club.  Before each play, my classmates and teachers and I took part in an workshop where we posed as statues, wrote scripts and tried acting.

During my sophomore year, I was eager to go again. The only problem is the production was on March 14, 2020. But then the Pandemic hit and Broadway went dark.  The show and the trip were canceled. This saddened me because of all the potential memories I was missing out on.

Two years later, I’m now a senior and I finally got a chance to take part in the Broadway workshop again:  I interacted with other students and teachers, wrote scripts and tried acting in front of an audience. I also got to see another Broadway called “Skeleton Crew” about three factory workers in Detroit during a recession in 2008 when numerous people were laid off and many automobile companies were shut down.

It’s safe to say that Broadway is back and so am I.