Danny Burstein on Simple Joys Following COVID-19 Recovery and Missing the 'Crazy-Ass Talented' Moulin Rouge! Cast

Danny Burstein is used to be being busy. With 18 Broadway productions and six Tony nominations to his name, Burstein's schedule is usually filled with performances, rehearsals, press events and auditions. That all came to a stop when the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic forced Broadway theaters to close. Now three months into the shutdown, Burstein shares his experience recovering from the virus in a new episode of Broadway.com's #LiveatFive: Home Edition.

Burstein appears in Moulin Rouge! as the eccentric Harold Zidler, and he is one of many in the Broadway community who has revealed a diagnosis. His co-stars Aaron Tveit and Tam Mutu also both acknowledged testing positive. "Our producers actually closed our show earlier than everybody else because they were worried for the welfare of our company," Burstein said to Broadway.com's Paul Wontorek. "I applaud them for that. They were very proactive in taking care of everyone in that building. About four days after that, I started having symptoms. Once I had issues breathing, I walked myself to the hospital with my son, Zach, and check myself in. After taking a test, a nurse came in and said, 'Well, you tested positive for COVID-19. Are you an organ donor?' That's when I realized it was far more serious than I was allowing myself to believe."

Burstein went on to spend six days in the hospital where he was constantly surrounded by those also fallen ill by the same virus. "On the second day I took a nosedive and was having trouble breathing the entire day," Burstein said. "I went to use the little bathroom in my room, and while I was there I had trouble breathing and thought I was going to faint. I thought, 'No, no, no, no. This is not the way I want to go. I'm not going to be found dead in this tiny little bathroom.' So, I did every actory breathing technique I could and slowly walked myself back to bed to get oxygen. It was a place where people were dying and everything was very serious and heavy. I thought, 'I'm getting the hell out of here as quickly as I can.' I just willed myself because I knew if I stayed there, I might not make it out."

After having positive oxygen levels and decreased symptoms, Burstein was released from the hospital. "I walked myself home a block and a half and, thank God, slowly started to get better," he said. "Just this week I'm starting to feel normal, which is a long time from when I was in the hospital. I just got lucky. I did. I know I got lucky." Now, Burstein and his wife, Tony nominee Rebecca Luker, who recently announced her ALS diagnosis, are finding joy in every breath of fresh air. "It's a very difficult illness but [Rebecca] happens to be the strongest person I've ever met in my life," Burstein said. "I have no idea how she's moving forward every single day, but she does and she does with kindness and love and strength and sometimes frustration and anger, but she's pushing through. We're taking walks and now that it's even more beautiful, it's lovely. Look for us in Riverside Park and wave."

Now that Burstein and his family are continuing to get healthier, he's looking forward to the day he can reunite with his Moulin Rouge! cast. "The people in Moulin Rouge! are crazy-ass talented, everybody in the show could be a star of a Broadway show," he said. "They're all making movies here and they're directing this and that and choreographing things. I'm floored by this company. It's one of those companies where everybody's wonderful and it's a really lovely family. They're smart and talented and kind have a beautiful work ethic. I think that comes from our two leads, Karen [Olivo] and Aaron [Tveit], who are so good at what they do and set such a wonderful example. When you work with people, they become family. And I miss my family very much."

Watch Burstein talk about the time he and his wife ran away from a bear and more in the full episode below!