As we have long reported, the COVID War, launched by politicians across the world with their draconian lockdown mandates have destroyed the lives and livelihoods of billions across the globe.

Beyond the Office Building Bust and spikes in crime, drug overdoses, mental illness, school dropouts, suicide rates, businesses going broke etc. the live theater in the U.S. is in a state of crisis after politicians forced people to lockdown during the COVID-19 outbreak that proved to only be dangerous to the sickest and oldest. 

The New York Times reported last week on how theaters in Chicago, the Bay Area, and New York City have been negatively affected. The paper said it spoke to 72 regional theaters and these companies said—on average—they plan on producing 20 percent fewer shows than before the outbreak. 

These theaters are grappling with would-be customers who no longer commute to work in larger cities and their government checks during the outbreak are running out. 

“The hits are still doing OK, they might still get a little bit dampened after COVID,” Megan Pressman, who heads Center Theater Group in Los Angeles, said. “But the other shows, the kind of average shows, the averages are lower, and the lows are even lower. It’s really similar to what’s happening in movie theaters and cinemas.”

Theaters that produce new plays are faring worse than big productions. 

Besides the shift in commuting to work and the emergence of streaming services, The Times noted that many of these theaters are situated in downtown areas that could raise safety concerns for would-be guests. 

Theaters are also facing higher labor costs for technicians and higher materials costs to make sets and costumes, MarketPlace reported.  

“So we have to significantly cut back to basically work within our own means. That’s where we find ourselves now. So as a result, we’ve been shrinking programming and reducing our staff,” she said.

Greg Reiner, the director of theater and musical theater at the National Endowment for the Arts, told The Times that there are about two to three theaters closing each month at the current rate—while others have been forced to cut staff, like the Brooklyn Academy of Music that reduced its workforce by 13 percent.

Reiner’s agency, citing the Census Bureau, found that just 10.3 percent of American adults attended a live musical last year, which is down from 16.5 percent in 2017. The paper said just 4.5 percent attended a play, which is down from 9.4 percent in 2017.

TRENDPOST: The Trends Journal has reported extensively on how the COVID-19 lockdowns, not “the pandemic,” changed life on Earth and killed the human spirit. (See “COVID WARS LEADS TO ABSENTEEISM CRISIS AT SCHOOLS IN THE U.S.,” 18 Jul 2023, “COVID SCIENTIST WHO CAST COVID LAB LEAK AS ‘CONSPIRACY’ IN 2020 PRIVATELY SAID JUST THE OPPOSITE” 18 Jul 2023, and “BROADWAY ENDS MASK RULE, ACTORS FREAK OUT” 28 Jun 2022.)

We’ve noted that, even in the best of times, Broadway producers rely on near-capacity crowds in order to turn a profit. 

Theaters pulled in $1.8 billion in ticket sales in 2019 and, in 2022, saw about half the revenue, the paper reported. (The government lockdowns forced them to close on 12 March 2020.)

The non-profit theaters, that are doing far worse than Broadway, are looking for new ideas to generate revenue and some have implemented alcohol sales and are renting out their properties.

We have a better idea.

How about a new play?

The lead character is a corrupt governor who can exert more control over the public than he ever dreamed after the emergence of a mystery virus. This governor writes books, enjoys immense popularity, and is even mentioned as a potential nominee for president. (It helps because his muscle-head brother is a host for a state-run news outlet.)  

But, like most Shakespearean tragedies, he is undone by hubris and sees his world fall apart by femme fatales. He is forced to resign, and his brother loses his cushy primetime gig. Both resort to a lonely existence that includes striped bass fishing in the Long Island Sound.