Traditional plays and musicals aren’t exactly an option right now, so Airbnb is trying to fill the entertainment void and help artists who lost employment due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It partnered with The Actors Fund to offer new experiences hosted by artists and Broadway performers to keep a little Broadway shimmer in your life while the theaters themselves are dark.
Airbnb Is Launching Immersive Virtual Experiences With Your Favorite Broadway Stars
The Broadway Online Experiences page invites viewers to “join live, interactive performances and conversations from Broadway and beyond. Without leaving home…Broadway’s back like never before. Learn the can-can from Moulin Rouge! The Musical, go behind the scenes with your favorite princesses, and meet the people keeping the magic of Broadway alive, online.”
The experiences include “Storytelling Through Song” with actor Tituss Burgess, “Broadway Princess Party” with stage Disney princesses Laura Osnes, Courtney Reed, and Susan Egan (who also voiced Megara in Hercules), dance lessons with the casts of Chicago and Moulin Rouge!, comedy improv classes, acting lessons, workouts, and more.
The experiences range from $15 to $60 each, and all proceeds from the experiences will go toward supporting artists financially while Broadway remains closed. According to an April 2020 survey by Americans for the Arts, 62 percent of artists have become unemployed during the pandemic, so there’s no question that relief is urgently needed.