As a boy, Neil Simon would sometimes cover his ears with a pillow, hoping to drown out the sounds of his parents fighting. When the fights got bad enough, his father would take off; he’d be gone for months at a time—not an easy thing for a family to deal with, especially during the Depression.

It’s extraordinary that live theatre has survived. Because of the pandemic, yes, and also thanks to technological advances that have created seemingly infinite entertainment options at our fingertips at any given moment.

The Pablo Ziegler Jazz Trio won a 2018 Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album for Jazz Tango, making it the first ever nuevo tango release to win a major Grammy—and individually, pianist Pablo Ziegler, bandoneon player Hector Del Curto, and guitarist Claudio Ragazzi, are award-winning musicians and composers in their own right.

Two hundred years after the premiere of Puccini’s La Bohéme, Rent debuted. A loose adaptation of the former, Rent centered its action in the East Village neighborhood of Alphabet City. It’s startling to realize that the musical, with its Doc Marten-clad women and answering machine messages, has itself become a period piece; these days, no one can afford to starve in Manhattan.