Broadway was hit hard during the pandemic. Coronavirus has affected performers all over the country, including those in Abington who got their production of “Mamma Mia” cancelled in March of 2020 on opening night.

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The Coronavirus pandemic has left thousands of people with way too much time on their hands, including teenagers and young adults.

— Isabelle Assaf

The performing arts need to be supported and kept alive everywhere. Supporting the arts is important for the performers and audiences. Theatre provides a source of entertainment and can be inspiring. Theatre can be an escape from the real world and its problems.

The Coronavirus pandemic has left thousands of people with way too much time on their hands, including teenagers and young adults. Some have turned to social media, using it for different purposes, like bringing awareness to issues, asking for donations to charity and supporting places in need.

The popular social media app TikTok was what 26-year-old Emily Jacobsen used to support actors and Broadway. Back in October, Jacobsen discussed making the 2007 Disney movie “Ratatouille” into a Broadway musical. She wrote a song for the potential finale number that became well known as the “Ode to Remy”.

The song is an earworm, with the lyrics “Remy, the ratatouille! The rat of all my dreams….may the world remember your name!”

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Daniel Mertzlufft, a New York City-based composer, orchestrator, and music director, who’s worked on Off-Broadway’s “Sistas”, helped by adding orchestrations and backing vocals to the song which launched it into popularity. Soon after, it had taken over TikTok.

Hundreds of creators contributed to the project by writing more additional music, choreographing numbers, designing costumes, puppets, sets, and even a logo for the playbill.

The “Ratatousical,” as it has been called, was a force to be reckoned with, getting attention from BroadwayWorld, Playbill, and even Pixar. “Ratatouille: The TikTok musical streaming event took place on Jan. 1.

As of Jan. 19,  “Ratatouille: the TikTok musical” raised over 2 million dollars to benefit The Actors Fund, according to the website ew.com.

In the darkest of times the people in the performance industry have found ways to get together to create something wonderful. Even a musical about a cartoon rat who likes to cook.