The pandemic shutdown of theater in New York was very hard to take for those of us who love the art form. While performers took to streaming, I never warmed to the platform. For some odd reason I enjoy sitting shoulder to shoulder with strangers to watch live performers. Not the best pastime during a highly contagious disease outbreak.

But as things progress and more people are vaccinated we can slowly return to normal. Today is when the industry chose to go big . Four big musicals – “Hamilton” “Chicago” “Wicked” and “The Lion King” coordinated to restart their shows this evening. I am sorry to not be in New York for this resurrection but I’ve already seen all of these Broadway hits. Sure, a few shows snuck in to open up earlier, but tonight is the unofficial/official reopening date we have been waiting for.

The biggest and most important landmark is the reopening of the Times Square TKTS booth where you can find discounted same day theatre tickets. This has always been one of my favorite sources of access to New York theater and you should always include at least one show slot during a Big Apple visit to catch a random performance. The TKTS booth reopens at 3 PM today which means that theater is officially back in New York City.

Meanwhile I am getting tickets to some Florida theater and attractions and will be reviewing them here in the coming weeks and months. Wherever you are, please support the return of live theater. It is essential.

As always you can find more at www.walterthinnes.com and on Twitter @walterthinnes