(via Deadline)

NYC’s reopening continues to be fraught with a bunch of contradictions that gives some breathing room for some businesses and leaves others still hanging like they were at the beginning of the pandemic. Certain indoor activities are currently cleared for operation in New York State and even in NYC in some cases including bowling or trivia at a bar, but small live performance venues are still kept in the dark as to how, when, or why they can’t try and put on shows.

Thus, six off Broadway theaters along with the New York Comedy Club and Broadway Comedy Club are suing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio for more equitable reopening treatment when it comes to live performance venues that could potentially open safely with limited capacity. For the last few weeks, the world has gotten to see Saturday Night Live return with a live audience (that’s paid to be there as a loophole) and these venue owners and proprietors are left angrily wondering why they’re being left out.

There are outdoor shows that currently happen in NYC without any guidance, which really does beg for answers from both Cuomo and de Blasio as to what is the path back for small venues and intimate live performance, especially live comedy in such a way that a good majority of NYC venues will not have to shudder their doors for good.

As with everything that’s happening in the world right now, we’re unsure as to how the suit will go exactly, but it very well may set a precedent for re-opening for live performance in every other major city around the globe.