Are They Signing At The Stage Door Of Hamilton ?

And a lot of people don't stay up to date on whats going on....and don't know its not allowed. I'm surprised theater management isnt making them disperse.

Updated On: 9/18/21 at 10:15 AM

Jordan Catalano said: "It has been odd to see all the stage door barricades set up, even with the show logos on them and I can understand how it might confuse some people who either didn’t know about no stage dooring or had heard but now see the barricades set up again, who think maybe they are doing it. Glad the cast isn’t stopping but there’s always going to be people waiting, I guess now just waiting for a wave from the actors."



^Yeah, I agree. I can see how it's confusing and might actually encourage people to stop and wait. But at the end of the day, the theatre's priority is to give the actors a clear path to leave, even if it means giving the wrong impression to people around. It's not a perfect solution, but it's probably better than making it a free-for-all where actors have to wade through a bunch of people, and/or forcing security to shoo people away every 30 seconds only for them to come creep their way back toward the door.

Also, he’s not signing anything. He simply took a selfie with the crowd outside the stage door. There’s an obvious amount of social distancing between him and the crowd. It’s obvious actors will still be exiting the stage door, just not stopping to sign stuff or pose for selfies. People can still take photos from their spots.

dramamama611 said: "And a lot of people don't stay up to date on whats going on....and don't know its not allowed. I'm surprised theater management isnt making them disperse."

This too!! I think they haven’t been paying attention to any theater news-especially when it comes to COVID protocol. 🙄

BrodyFosse123 said: "Also, he’s not signing anything. He simply took a selfie with the crowd outside the stage door. There’s an obvious amount of social distancing between him and the crowd. It’s obvious actors will still be exiting the stage door, just not stopping to sign stuff or pose for selfies. People can still take photos from their spots.

"

And so Many people are going to be like look it’s an actor encouraging me to come to the stage door.

I went to the first performance of Waitress and people were definitely lined up like that, but as previously mentioned no one stops or engages other than a simple wave as they leave.

I also noticed security isn't telling them to leave, so I feel like if the issue was more pressing than security would in theory be asking them to leave or there wouldn't be any set up for it to begin with.

I mean, if people want to stand there and watch people leave, more power to them, but it seems like there's been no clear communication regarding things. I don't think Miguel's photos are any attempt to get people to come to stage door but merely a way to acknowledge people in a friendly way. I can see how it might lead to something like that, but again, I think the issue of it all hasn't been addressed from the higher ups.

HogansHero said: "We don't require masks or distancing on the street. We also don't require vaccinated people to wear masks outdoors at performances. What's in this picture is pretty low risk, even moreso if we assume that these idiots were all at the show and thus vaccinated. The purpose of the no stage door protocol is to protect the actors from close contact with an unmonitored population, not to protect the foolish from themselves.

ETA: having security shoo people away would require a great deal more (and differently trained) security, cause potential problems, and have questionable legality on a public sidewalk without involving the police."

Yeah even if you’re outside and unmasked AND vaccinated, remember that vaccines aren’t 100%. There are variants. This is like saying they don’t care. There was a big musical festival…last weekend? The weekend before? And now there are people who have been exposed. So don’t say this is fine.


Jordan, Sutton-I agree. I’m surprised there isn’t anything there-didn’t they have signs right before the shut down? I’m surprised they don’t have them now.

It's sort of disappointing people aren't taking this seriously. I was also surprised at all the screaming in the videos I've seen posted during performances. It's possible for us to get to experience theater and also to be smart. It just takes a few sacrifices. I do hope this is all just reopening excitement and behavior will level off. People should be able to enjoy things but also let's be honest about the situation we're in.

You're right about publicity tho... I'd think producers could set up alternate Instagram photo opportunities to prevent folks from grouping together like this.

I know masks are not required outdoors but with the way people have been packing together, they should be. Part of what I'm nervous about is getting through the crowds to get to my shows. How is sharing air in the theater bad but someone spraying you with spittle or sneezing on you on the sidewalk totally fine?

Because as Dr. Fauci said over a year ago, it's next to impossible to get Covid from someone outdoors. It's so ridiculously rare, it had to be discussed. Enclosed spaces is how people get this virus.

hearthemsing22 said: "Yeah even if you’re outside and unmasked AND vaccinated, remember that vaccines aren’t 100%. There are variants. This is like saying they don’t care. There was a big musical festival…last weekend? The weekend before? And now there are people who have been exposed. So don’t say this is fine."

I am not saying it's fine or not, because that's for epidemiologists do. What we know from them is that no precaution is 100% but we have to learn to live with covid, just as we have learned to live with lots of other viruses. Did you avoid being unmasked and in crowds pre-covid when the TB vaccine wasn't 100%? What science tells us is that the risk of getting seriously ill from a breakthrough infection is tiny (way less than the risk of ending up in the hospital from crossing a street in the theatre district) so we deal. As I have said a million times before on this board, each of us has to assess our own risk aversion and deal accordingly. That may mean steering clear of these odious groups who go to stage doors (something I did and encouraged pre-covid for unrelated reasons) and it may mean wearing masks when you don't really need to. There are two concerns: the public one which is pretty well managed in NYC right now (much to dismay of the gross theatres that are suing the city to get vax mandates lifted), and the private one that each of us gets to regulate on our own whether that means wearing masks everywhere, staying away from people, staying home, etc. Or not. Whatever one decides, though, it is wise to understand the science before we decide what we are comfortable with. Science says I can go to outer space. No thanks.