This past September marked a historic moment for the Broadway community. After more than a year and a half of being shut down due to COVID, Broadway shows like “Waitress,” “Hamilton,” “Wicked" and more started to reopen weekly in September.

“On Stage” host Frank DiLella documented this exact moment and he’s about to present it next week on PBS with his new film, "Reopening: The Broadway Revival," featuring an all-star cast.  

He joined NY1's Ruschell Boone for a preview, saying the film originated when “On Stage” made a commitment to follow the shows for as long as the pandemic lasted.

"I realized there's something here," DiLella said. He was later contacted by a production company as well as PBS to produce the documentary.

He spoke about the deep impact the pandemic had on some 100,000 theater workers.

"These people lost their jobs literally overnight," DiLella said. "This industry brings in so much money to New York City, more than all the New York, New Jersey sports teams in the tri-state area combined. So this was worthy of a story."

The documentary's release comes as Broadway Week begins, a program that's actually nearly a month long in which theater fans can snag 2-for-1 tickets to more than a dozen popular shows.

While there's no question that shows have struggled and some have even shut their doors amid the latest surge in COVID cases, DiLella said, without a doubt, "Broadway is open for business."