‘1, 2, 3 … Exhale Together’: Broadway Families, Reunited at Last

Before the reopenings were the in-person reunions. And hugs. So many hugs. Here’s a look at some of the first emotional moments on the road back.

The “Waitress” cast and crew hugged. They embraced. They squeezed. They swayed. And at their first in-person rehearsal on Wednesday, Aug. 4, they also paid tribute to Nick Cordero, the actor who died of complications of the coronavirus last summer. He was in the original Broadway production, and the show’s book writer, Jessie Nelson, had an idea: On opening night, they should put a pie in Cordero’s honor on the menu board of the diner in the show. They settled on a slice of “Live Your Life,” named after a song he had written. When the “Hadestown” cast first met for rehearsals, they formed a ring around their ghost light, which had illuminated the empty Walter Kerr Theater for over a year. “I’m so glad to be here with you all,” said Anaïs Mitchell, who wrote the Tony-winning show’s music, lyrics and book.