left until christmas. goodnight. this is "nightline." >> tonight, raising the curtains. covid-19 shuttering hollywood, broadway. >> this is a little deserted. >> but dreams kept alive by stunt doubles. >> how things are done in show business. >> i think a lot of innovation comes from necessity. plus, rolling the dic s ersis. >> we've nev seen it inears. >> now betting big on a comeback. how they plan to keep players safe. to turn around a streak of covid-19 losses. >> "nightline," bringing america back starts right now with

pitts. a big part of bringing america back is restarting everything entertainment, stage, screen, sports. but tonight more than 30 million people out of work because of covid-19. among those on and off screen hopefuls, looking for new ways to make it big in show business. kenny frankor always dreamed of the big lights and big stage. dancing on broadway looks a little different when steps are on the sidewalk and the marquee for "book of mormon" is dark. how long's it been? >> since i've been here? what, seven days now. >> what do you think? >> it's very empty. normally i'm here at showtime and there's people lined up. this is a little deserted. >> kenny is one of millions, performers, stagehands, directors and writers out of a

job. >> i will never be sad if i never get to perform here again. >> this is broadway, baby. >> this allowed me to she sheepish when i said i'm an actor. this show will come back. there will be something. something will come back. >> a forced intermission, now that entertainment as we know it has changed. theaters, arenas, concert halls and studio lots all silent. streets of hollywood deserted. >> in life, you know this as well as anyone does. it's not if adversity's going to hit, it's when and how do you act. >> finally, hints of hope. our parent company, disany, announcing disney shanghai will open may 11 to a limited number

of visitors. no word on when disneyland or t disney world will follow suit. dominick patten is a senior editor with "deadline." he says while most celebrities can weather the storm, the industry worth more than $40 billion supports 2.5 million workers, the majority of whom are without a paycheck. these are often the unsung heroes of hollywood. >> there hasn't been a moment since the birth of film making and hollywood that people have not turned to storytelling to escape life for just a moment. that's why we're here. >> reporter: for lisa, that's meant 16 years of blood, sweat tears and actually being set on fire. >> your lawyer brings you a dress or something. >> reporter: doing stunts and acting in "animal kingdom" and s.e.a.l. team." >> i get to jump off of buildings, break glass, be super

heroes, why would i have a plan b? i have the coolest job in the world. that's why it's worth fighting for. just about anybody you talk to in this industry has a side hustle like bar tending or working in restaurants. they can't do those jobs right now. >> reporter: lisa is surviving off savings, trying to stay in shape for when the jobs come back. for others, 2020 seemed like it was going to be a breakout year. >> everything we were working so hard for just stopped all of a sudden. the life as we knew it just changed. >> reporter: she was just gaining traction. lead role on apple tv's "little america." >> you going to give me your social security number? >> i was finally being recognized. i got to see myself on these posters in new york city, in l.a. >> but the shutdown happened slowing her momentum. >> when people think about

hollywood, they think about the lights and the celebrities and a-listers. but they don't know that there's so much more than just actors on the screen, and so now during this pandemic i think it's even harder. a lot of us live check by check. >> i'm going to try to put some acoustic foam panels here. >> reporter: she is challenging herself, learning to record and submit her own audition tapes from home. >> i definitely feel like i made this big move and the sacrifices i've made in my life to go big. it's like go big or go home, you know? i really want to be the next latino super hero on marvel. >> reporter: but first, hollywood has to figure out how to restart production. going forward film sets in a covid-19 world will likely look very different. >> when you have a wardrobe sitting with several people pulling on you, i run into 20 to 100 people in every job that i work on. and to realistically get back to work we must ensure that there

are safety guidelines in place. >> reporter: and even larger looming question, the cost of safety. what are you going to do putting people on a set if an actor gets sick, a crew member gets sick. there's another outbreak. that means more money and budgets. >> reporter: it could mean fewer background performering. >> with less people working on these jobs that rely on these jobs and deserve to be working. it doesn't consider any of us whatsoever. >> reporter: how movies are made is still to be determined. but for the blockbusters waiting for release, where you will see them is up in the air. >> james bond. >> reporter: in the height of the pandemic, studios pushed back their big eagest 2020 reles by months, like the james bond film "no time to die" and "black widow." patrick corcoran.

>> it doesn't make sense to make these movies if they don't have a theatrical release. it's saving a piece of who we are. >> reporter: as states ease restrictions, theaters are figuring out the safest way to reopen. moviegoers are greeted with temperature checks, no-contact lines. socially distanced seating. there will be more in-depth cleaning at the end of shows >> we hope to open at the end of june and get people accustomed to be back in the movie theater and be near stwrents rength in . >> reporter: universal studios created a firestorm, releasing "troll world tour" straight to video on demand. amc and regal have vowed to black list future universe aal films. however, americans have been turning to streaming services.

disa d disney topped customers. and espn scoring viewers with the documentary series "last dance". ♪ traditional tv shows like showss "american idol" are getting creative. after 18 years, the show is laying out a new way to roll out its sing competition, using mother than more than 40 shooting locations. what about that great line "you're going to hollywood"? >> that's not going to happen anymore. >> just when the show was able to launch in this way.

>> reporter: bobby bones, now has to go remotely. the show sent iphone cameras and lighting kits to all the top 20 contestants. producers have been coaching them on everything. >> reporter: how do you think will affect your show and the industry moving forward? >> the fact that it can be done means it will be done. and it's going to cost a lot less. i don't think you're going to see big shows like "american idol" do this normally, but i think you're seeing a show like "american idol" go, all right, we have to be the first ones to do this, so let's just do it. >> reporter: broadway shows have turned to video performances to raise money for charity. ♪ like "wicked." ♪ because i knew you ♪ i have been changed for good >> reporter: for those live in-person shows that make broadway so unique still a long

way off. >> we are just kind of waiting around, because we will be the last ones to be able to go back to work. >> reporter: why do you say that? . >> because i think people need to be comfortable sitting in a theater again. i would like to go back next week, but if we go can i think we'd shut like back down again. >> reporter: creativity, the magic of broadway. >> reading a play over zoom is not going to be the same thing. so we have to start critically thinking, how do we get that feeling of being in that space and having something becreated around us. i don't have the answer to that, but i think if we bripride ourselves in being innovators and creators, here we go. we got to do it. >> reporter: i think about being in new york post 9/11 and broadway reopened and people could fulfill that spirit that lives in most of us. are you optimistic that moment will come? >> i really hope so.

we had this illusion of security. and it's a scary thing to be woken up from that, but it's a necessary thing. i am forcing myself to say that covid-19 has given us this privilege of being able to start this, you know, new world, however new or different it might be u but start , but star new perspective and hopeful little a more caring perspective as well. and coming up next for us, how casinos shut down by the pandemic are banking on a safe bet for gamblers.

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another part to bringing america back is the big business of casinos. they of course did not escape the pandemic shutdown. tonight, juju chang on reducing the risk on the casino floor. >> reporter: how eerie is it for you to hear the silence? >> it's unbelievable. >> reporter: and these slot machines should be clinging and clanging right now. >> they should be clinging and clanging.

>> reporter: poker tables, slot machines, the lifeblood drained. how many machines do you have? >> 45 slot >> reporter: the doors have never been closed. >> never been closed. >> reporter: and the slot machines have never been turned off. >> never been turned off. >> reporter: all across the country, from sin city to the desolate dunes to the boardwalk empire to rural connecticut. those cash-rich adult playgrounds now in danger of crumbling under imethe immense shutdown. >> i have 99% unemployment here. it's impoom one on one interactn and i'm serving you a meal or dealing your cards. >> reporter: foxwood had to

furlough 5,000 casino employees six weeks ago, leaving executive chef eddie allen wondering when they will serve real drinks to customers again. in las vegas. a barren strip. bad locks on casino doors. . bellagio fountain now just water. show girls out of a job. >> it's heartbreaking. i had so many goals and plans. and exciting things i was looking forward to, and then it all just up and vanished. >> reporter: as america prepares to reopen these bastions of gambling are preparing for the ground swell of pent-up partying that may never come. what kind of capacity do you see when you reopen? >> we're not sure. a lot of it's going to be dictated by medical professionals and psychology and

how comfortable they'll feel going out in public. >> reporter: but casinos are preparing all the same. sanitized gaming will be the new normal. purell stations and wipes at every corner. >> that's like gold right now. >> reporter: do you have an armed guard with that purell? >> on any given day, you'll see 15,000 people coming through on top of our 5,000 employees. >> reporter: with all those people comes lots of touching, touching chips, cash, drinks, dice, a social distancing nightmare that makes reopening a unique and risky challenge. these are the turned-on slot machines. >> this is an example eorci soch chairs taken away. >> reporter: does it worry you that some of your client might end up spreading covid unknowingly? >> 100%. that's why we're really enforcing social distancing.

that's why some of the high-contact areas like bingo, the buffet, we're not going to be opening those in the first round. >> reporter: even getting through the doors will be a gamble. with security shutting down most entrances, a new digital gate keeper. >> your body temperature is normal. >> reporter: 97 degrees. i'm cold blood man. >> reporter: and for those looking for a rush of a good run this is the new normal, black kwlak p ja jack through a plexiglass sneeze guard. >> it will be three people playing, the max that will be allowed to play on a blackjack table at this time. are yo . >> reporter: brian hayes runs gaming operations here. how do you keep cards clean? >> given what's going on today we'll be swapping out cards much more frequently. >> reporter: but in this world of temptation of poker and prop

bets, why are we even opening non-essential entertainment. there may be some watching this saying gambling's a vice. maybe we shouldn't have them reopen. >> we're so much more than gaming. we also have 2,200 hotel r entertainment venues. >> reporter: while it may seem like rolling the dice, the people at foxwoods are convinced their slot machines will be cling and clanging once again. do you worry about your survival? >> we're going to survive this, it's just how and when. and what it's going to look like. but we're definitely going to come out the other side much stronger than we were going in. >> our thanks to juju. next, defying gravity at a safe distance. i didn't have to shout out for help.

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and finally tonight, bringing show business back to the show-me state.

this is not your ordinary neighborhood performance of a musical "wicked." the perry family from kansas city, missouri, defying gravity. with the help of a makeshift crane and smoke machine, getting a standing ovation from the front row, i mean front lawn crowd. ♪ that's "nightline" for this evening, thanks for the company, america. good nite. ♪ ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, ba, da, jimmy kimmel live ♪ this is ridiculous. from his house. >> jimmy: hello again, it's me, jimmy, welcome to my house. i hope you had a nice day of meetings in your fat pants. at this point, i've done so much

working from home, once we go back, i'm planning to spend two months living at work. this morning we have a very picky 5 year old daughter who last night decided she no longer eats corn. this morning show she decided not to eat her pancakes. i got a mix made of whole-grains, and i add the eggs and milk. i made it in the shape of a butterfly, which she loves. the syrup is perfect, and she hated it. she took one bite and says, "it tastes like it has seeds in it." i explained there were no seeds in it, even though there were we found out later. but we got in an hour-long standoff over this. eat the pancakes, you love pancakes, no i don't. you eat them every day, not thes