Legendary comedian Joan Rivers passed away last Thursday, and the entertainment industry has since been reeling from the loss of the sharp-witted celebrity. Between sharing both insults that Rivers tossed their way in the past and stories of how Rivers paved the way for women in comedy, fellow entertainers shared their support this past weekend for the late comedian.
Today, that will continue as theaters pay tribute to her memory. Per tradition, the lights will dim at participating theater houses 15 minutes before the curtains open for that night’s show. As of now, The Wilbur is the only Boston theater to have announced they will go dark at 6:45 p.m. in honor of Joan Rivers.
At the time of the official announcement, the Wilbur was joining the NYC-based Jujamcyn Theaters, Disney Theatrical Productions and The Helen Hayes Theatre in the tribute. On Monday, USA Today reported that Broadway had announced their executive decision not to dim their lights in honor of Rivers, as she had not been active in the Broadway scene in the time leading up to her death.
According to USA Today, Broadway League executive Charlotte St. Martin said:
Under our criteria people need to have been very active recently in the theater, or else be synonymous with Broadway – people who made their careers here, or kept it up.
In her time, Rivers starred in three Broadway shows and written two, but hadn’t been active on Broadway since 1994. Most recently, Broadway paid the traditional tribute to Robin Williams and Lauren Bacall in August.
But, in the aftermath of this decision, the Broadway League was met with outpouring support for Rivers, and over 5,500 people signed a petition to reverse the decision in a movement started by Jujamcyn Theaters rep Jordan Roth. On Tuesday afternoon, it worked: the Broadway League announced that they now will dim their lights on September 9 at 6:45 p.m. for one minute in honor of Rivers.
Last year, Rivers visited Boston and performed at the Wilbur for one night only in November.
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