Broadway shows returned to Tuesday night after shutting for a year and a half following the onset of the pandemic. Fan favorites like Wicked, the Lion King and Hamilton are allowing audiences with masks and proof of vaccination to experience their magic once more. James Ford has been re-creating a long time coming since Tony and Grammy-winning composer Tom Kitt.
I'm so grateful that these goalposts that have been moving around have firmly landed, Kitt tells Yahoo Finance Live. I can't say you what it means to get back on the train, going to rehearsal, being in my community, creating in the room. Kitt, who also received an Emmy in 2014 and was ranked as Pulitzer prize for Drama for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize, joined Yahoo Finance Live to discuss how the pandemic impacted his career, the shutdown and reopening of Broadway, as well as his latest studio album Reflect. The most difficult thing about having to abruptly close theater doors at the beginning of 2020 was the uncertainty and having to put the work for shows that were about to close on pause.
It was quite traumatic, Kitt said. There was a lot of work, actually, going into getting those shows to the place where they were about to open and also suddenly realizing the fear of how you've been moving around New York was traumatic According to Kitt, Reflect started out as a song cycle that ended up turning into an album. She features several prominent Broadway actresses : Mandy Gonzalez, Elizabeth Stanley, Javier Mu oz, Heidi Blickenstaff, and Elizabeth Stanley. Reflect features all of Kitt's children, who he says so much taught him throughout the pandemic.
Kitt said he aimed to collaborate with others on the project to speak to so many of the different experiences that his fellow artists had in the past year and a half. In the beginning, however, he felt that it was challenging to create during such a turbulent time.
One of the things that pulled me out of this initial state of not feeling like I wanted or could create something was this urgency, suddenly, to speak to this moment, Kitt said. And it was a conversation that I had with my wife Rita saying the world needs artists now more than ever. As for the productions he is currently involved with, Kit said that he only recently began rehearsal for The Visitor at The Public Theater; Jagged Little Pill will begin performances in October at Broadhurst Theatre and Flying Over Sunset will begin rehearsals in October with previews beginning in November.
Kitt is currently nominated for his second Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for his work on the rock musical Jagged Little Pill. It never gets old to be connected by your peers, to contribute to the world of theater in ways that connect and moved people, Kitt said. And a number of shows on Broadway have brought nominations — I'm very thankful — some which haven't. So when the light shines on you, you just realize to appreciate it, live in the moment, and just celebrate everyone who's part of this, whether you're nominated or not.