Posted on 10/28/2020 12:33:46 PM PDT by george76
If “Saturday Night Live” can perform to a live audience, why can’t theaters? That’s one of the arguments in a lawsuit filed by a coalition of eight Off-Broadway theaters and comedy clubs against New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio. The city’s live venues have been officially closed since March, and have not been allowed to reopen.
The lead plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed in the Federal District Court in Manhattan, are Catherine Russell, the general manager of the Theater Center in Times Square, and Michael Sgouros of Greenwich Village’s the Players Theatre. Other venues to join the suit are the Actors Temple Theater, the Gene Frankel Theater, Soho Playhouse, the Triad, Broadway Comedy Club, and New York Comedy Club.
The lawsuit argues that small venues can open safely at limited capacity and demands that Cuomo’s executive order closing small venues be overturned. The lawsuit was filed by attorney James G. Mermigis, who wrote: “Casinos, malls, movie theaters, restaurants, gyms, catering halls for weddings, christenings and bar mitzvahs, bowling alleys, ‘Saturday Night Live,’ schools and colleges have been allowed to reopen but the small venue theater industry remains shuttered despite its median capacity of only 144 seats.”
According to the suit, the small venue theater industry generates $1.3 billion in total economic output, over 8,400 full-time equivalent jobs, and $512 million in wages. It said that if the venues aren’t allowed to open soon, they “may be forced to permanently shut their doors.”
In a statement to the New York Times, Richard Azzopardi, a senior adviser to Cuomo, said: “We get sued virtually every day for virtually every action taken during this pandemic, and frankly, I’ve lost track of all the frivolous suits filed against us.” He then added, “We are moving heaven and Earth to contain this virus and we know some people are unhappy, but New York continues to have one of the lowest infection rates in the nation, and better to be unhappy than sick or worse.”
Meanwhile, the Broadway League has announced that Broadway theaters, where the seating capacity is much larger (usually at least 500 seats), will remain closed at least until May 2021. Movie theaters in NYC also remain closed, though Cuomo has allowed cinemas outside of the city to reopen starting Oct. 23 at limited capacity. In addition, there have been a number of outdoor performances to small audiences throughout the city.
Mermigis’s law firm has filed similar lawsuits for New York gym owners and restaurants. Both entities have been allowed to reopen under limited capacity.
The Theatre industry voted overwhelmingly for these 2 idiots I can guarantee you! Let them suffer. They still won’t learn jack sh&&. I have 0 sympathy for these broadway jackasses.
Titles of upcoming Broadway Musicals.....
Cats...Eat Bill De Blasio!
Bill de Blasio Is Phantom of the Musical!
Les Miserables....Life Under Bill De Blasio!
Annie Get Your Gun....And Stick It Up Bill De Blasio’s Nose!
Oh no....”the Stars” are no longer aligned. LOL
LOL! It’s about time. Theater is a young person’s game...or at least starting in it...the old men doing the lockdown don’t care about how many careers are being killed and how dull the future will be when all we have is state pageants ala China.
I hope people in these industries...entertainment and hospitality...start fighting back. What right does the government have to say you and your profession are “non-essential,” huh?
You know in the olden days when the wandering minstrels
came in to town the town folk could enjoy their talents yet made sure they didn’t settle or take over the town. Somehow, that very important lesson was lost. Maybe only property owners should vote, wonder if that’s ever been thought of? :)
Is Sue de Blasio the Mayor’s sister?
Suffer, b*tches.
I remember in 2017, they were holding performances in NYC where a Trump-like character was murdered. I wonder how many of these actors are now Uber drivers?
Broadway, off-Broadway, Radio City Music Hall, and the Met are all at the heart of NYC tourism.
Hold firm Wilhelm!
Yup. Tell them "hey, you know you could vote for somebody else" and you get the deer-in-the-headlights look. Mention Trump's name and you get an apoplectic fit. Stupid should hurt.
And they’ll vote for next two just like them. Leftist to the core.
From a “deplorables” perspective, this lawsuit by these plaintiffs is GOOD and GOOD.
In the first GOOD Cuomo and DeBlasio are complete imbeciles and need and deserve to be sued. It’s too bad it can’t be personal.
In the second GOOD, the plaintiffs filing the lawsuit no doubt vote Democrat at every opportunity and like most of New York never vote Republican.
So, once again, selective Dems are getting exactly what they voted for. GOOD !!!
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