How Broadway Predicted COVID-19

By Sierra Weissman - Fri Jun 19, 2020

In recent months, the world has become overrun by COVID-19, a terrible virus that has taken people and countries by the millions. Due to the pandemic, everything from schools to theaters have had to close, and life has been thrown into utter chaos. But is it possible that some Broadway musicals predicted or caused the COVID-19 outbreak?

In Beetlejuice, a musical based on the 1988 film of the same name, Beetlejuice sings the line, “I have mastered the art/ of tearing convention apart.” In the second song of the musical titled The Whole Being Dead Thing, is it possible that one of the ways Beetlejuice has “torn convention apart” was creating COVID-19? Due to the current pandemic, all conventions have been canceled (and torn apart), which could easily be the workings of Beetlejuice. 

It’s not just that line that Beetlejuice sings that could lead one to think that it was him who caused COVID-19, a few stanzas earlier Beetlejuice sings, “Nobody is bullet-proof/ ‘I work out, I eat clean!’/Jesus, pass the Dramamine.” Although COVID-19 affects people at varying degrees, unless someone had COVID-19 then recovered, no one is immune to COVID-19. Thus, he could very possibly be singing about COVID-19 and not death. In addition, a couple of lines later, Beetlejuice sings, “Might not live ‘till Christmas/... hey it’s just statistics.” Although it’s not fun to think about and is very grim, thousands of people every day die because of COVID-19, and statically speaking, several people don’t have a high chance of living until Christmas.

Another musical that has lines that sound like it predicted the COVID-19 pandemic is Hadestown, a musical that is a modern take on the Ancient Greek myths of Orpheus and Eurydice, and Hades and Persephone. In the first song of the second act, a song sung by Persephone titled “Our Lady of the Underground”, Persephone sings “But if you're like me then hanging around/ This old manhole is bringing you down/ Six-feet-under getting under your skin/ Cabin fever is a-setting in/ You're stir crazy! You're stuck in a rut!/ Or you could use a little pick-me-up.” Although we are not trapped “six-feet-under” we are trapped inside of our homes, which for many, ends up making them incredibly stir-crazy and have a terrible case of cabin fever. Later in the song, Persephone also sings, “Come here, brother, let me guess/ It's the little things you miss/ Spring flowers, autumn leaves”. Because of COVID-19, the little things that we took for granted such as being able to see friends and being able to leave the house, have all been taken away, so naturally, we miss them. 

Although much of this is very unlikely, it can be fun to think about, and a good way to make this situation, that is very much not at all fun, a little more bearable. Besides, Broadway and musicals in general, are all amazing and fun to listen to and obsess over both alone and by yourself, and now is a great time to discover new musicals and I highly recommend giving the ones mentioned here a listen.