COVID Restrictions In New York: As Smaller Entertainment Venues Reopen, Off-Broadway's 'The Office! A Musical Parody' Brings Musicals Back To NYC
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The arts are starting to come back in New York City.
"The Office! A Musical Parody," an off-Broadway musical, is among the first full performances to grace the stage in over a year.
"I'm just so thrilled to be back, to be giving joy, to be giving happiness to people and entertainment," said actress Emma Brock, who plays Michael Scott in the musical based on the hit television series.
The off-Broadway show is the first musical to return to New York City in over a year since the pandemic started.
It opens Friday night at the Theater Center in Midtown with 33% capacity.
General manager Catherine Russell installed a new ventilation system, plus all actors and staffers are vaccinated.
"When the audience comes in, they will be required to be masked. We will take their temperature," Russell told CBS2's Andrea Grymes.
Broadway shows are not expected to reopen until September, but some of the smaller theaters that host off-Broadway shows were able to reopen last week with restrictions along with other small- and medium-sized entertainment venues.
That also includes the Daryl Roth Theatre in Union Square, where Mayor Bill de Blasio visited last Friday.
They're hosting "Blindness," billed as a "socially distanced sound and light experience."
"We welcome everyone. I know you'll feel comfortable. I promise you'll be safe," Daryl Roth said.
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Wednesday, the mayor was on hand at Lincoln Center for the first performance of "Restart Stages." It's an outdoor venue with ten spaces for performances and rehearsals.
It's all a start as the place known as "the city that never sleeps" finally starts to reawaken.
