The acclaimed drama by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu is planning to start performances nearly a month before the big musicals begin.
The return of Broadway is gaining steam. The producers of “ Pass Over,” a bracing play about two Black men trapped on a street corner, announced Tuesday that they plan to begin performances on Broadway on Aug.4, advancing the industry’s planned restart by nearly a month. The producers, who include the playwright, Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu, cited the improving public health situation in explaining their plan. “Every single day it feels like New York specifically, and Times Square in a focused way, is coming back to life, and I want our show to be part of that,” Nwandu said. “I want our show to be a very visible and very instrumental part of leading that charge, and so after we had done our due diligence and I knew that it was a safe thing to do, I said yes.” Broadway has been closed since March 12, 2020, and resumption plans have shifted several times. Three juggernauts, “Hamilton,” “The Lion King” and “Wicked,” chose the initial restart date — Sept.14 — and then “Hadestown” chose Sept.2. “Pass Over” now has the earliest performance date announced thus far, but it remains possible that another show could begin even sooner.
