Broadway to Close?- Page 9

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:10pm

But the MTA is 100% a necessity for like 95% of NYC. So sure cancel all the entertainment but homeboy can still cough on me on the subway.

[TheatreFan4]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:13pm

>but I mean you can be on the transit for a VERY long period of time in a VERY crowded car. You can be at a very small packed bar. At a packed club. Seeing Drag Race on a Friday night. There’s not really anyway to “contain” it. So just be safe and cautious.

Sick person is at Broadway show as an Usher, exchanges tickets with literally hundreds of people a night. The rate of spread there is a lot less in a smaller group of people. Yes you could say that "Well people touch everywhere so why bother with any prevention?" As for being cautious for every 1 person that is there's 50 who aren't. If you take the decision out of the hands who aren't rate slows. Banning large groups of people isn't done on a whim, it's done with full CDC coordination. 

[AlanB3]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:25pm

SouthernCakes said: "But the MTA is 100% a necessity for like 95% of NYC. So sure cancel all the entertainment but homeboy can still cough on me on the subway."

Well which is it ... a necessity that you must have or a health concern that you want to see shut down? That's the policy dilemma for city officials.

[BenElliott]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:25pm

I'm not sure that cancelling Broadway will make all that much of a difference. You're more likely to catch it from the subway or the bus on the way to work. The only thing that closing Broadway would do is put a lot of artists out of a job.

All stage doors need to stop ASAP though. They have to keep the actors safe.

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:28pm

Having a bunch of people in a room together is a terrible idea. It's not a need, it's a luxury item, and they will have no problem doing that. 

[Kad]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:36pm

Mass transit is a necessity. Theater is a luxury, as are restaurants, bars, clubs, concerts. Minimize risks where you are actually able to. Keeping theaters open but getting rid of stage door crowds isn’t helpful- you still have the audience in a tight space! 

It genuinely seems like some of you are willfully obtuse.

Updated On: 3/11/20 at 11:36 PM

[Robbie2]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:37pm

BenElliott said: "I'm not sure that cancelling Broadway will make all that much of a difference. You're more likely to catch it from the subway or the bus on the way to work. The only thing that closing Broadway would do is put a lot of artists out of a job.

All stage doors need to stop ASAP though. They have to keep the actors safe."

Of course it will...I know of at least 12 companies in NYC that have at least 1 employee that has tested positive -  imagine all the people they came in contact+++++ We don't want another ITALY happening here b4 it's too late!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:42pm

You can be at a very small packed bar. At a packed club. Seeing Drag Race on a Friday night. There’s not really anyway to “contain” it. So just be safe and cautious

Yes, yes you can. Stay home. For this pandemic, they are calling it "social distancing". 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:47pm

Sutton Ross said: "You can be at a very small packed bar. At a packed club. Seeing Drag Race on a Friday night. There’s not really anyway to “contain” it. So just be safe and cautious

Yes, yes you can. Stay home. For this pandemic, they are calling it "social distancing"."

 

Exactly - stay home and away. People just don't want to get it...why is it so difficult to grasp the reality of this virus!?

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 3/11/20 at 11:50pm

I work in a restaurant. If I stay at home I have no income.
So yes I need to be out and about. I need money. No one is offering to pay my rent for April. So yeah I need to take the subway. I need to take a bus.

[AlanB3]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:07am

Kad said: "Mass transit is a necessity. Theater is a luxury, as are restaurants, bars, clubs, concerts. Minimize risks where you are actually able to. Keeping theaters open but getting rid of stage door crowds isn’t helpful- you still have the audience in a tight space!

It genuinely seems like some of you are willfully obtuse."

The thread could be locked after this post as it says it all. Thanks Kad for putting it so succinctly.

[orlikethecolorpurple]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:07am

Wouldn’t right now be a great time for Medicare for All? (Vote Bernie.)

[BenElliott]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:07am

Just wash your hands and if you're elderly, stay home and if you're not elderly, don't visit the elderly.

[BwayinVan]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:12am

If the do close for a bit I wonder what effect it will have on the Tony awards. If shows have to push back previews and then openings it will mean that some may open after the cut off making them ineligible for this season?

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:19am

I get it’s a “luxury” but it’s affects a ton of people. And their lives. And their next year of life.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:31am

Medicare for All is rationing. You do not need it at all but especially now

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:38am

SouthernCakes said: "I get it’s a “luxury” but it’s affects a ton of people. And their lives. And their next year of life. I

Just read NBA cancelling ,at least for now,entire season as one player turned up positive .A staffer at a senators office in d.c. just turned up positive also. I posted here earlier it was merely a virus. Put me into the convinced column  This is the real deal  resolve it now as if we still have it in summer it will.be no more open pools and beaches.If this doesn't get the 2 sides together in DC nothing ever will 

 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:40am

People can take a week off, probably, but a FEW weeks off? No way. Unless you can work from home this will have a major effect.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 12:48am

SouthernCakes said: "People can take a week off, probably, but a FEW weeks off? No way. Unless you can work from home this will have a major effect. "

Well China and Italy have had to do the same, America is not special. If it wants to stop this then sadly sacrifices are gonna have to be made. 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 1:06am

True...WE DON'T WANT another situation like ITALY happening here..

Coronavirus Update: NYC Health Inspector Says Outbreak Could Last Through September

Travel restrictions: Trump said as of Friday at midnight, all travel from Europe to the United States - with the exception of the U.K. - will be suspended at least for the next 30 days.

This will cripple NYC tourism - BROADWAY etc!

[Scarlet Leigh]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 1:08am

One has to wonder what is a better option for them IF they are given the CHOICE. 

Suspend performance for a few weeks, refunding the tickets but saving on operational costs. The pros being total public safety and not spending money on operations but obvious con the the cast and crews will not be getting a paycheck and lose of revenue on 100% of ticket sales in this time.

NOT TO MENTION that this would cause a TOTAL distribution to the season for awards. Shows that would open or start previews in this time frame will risk becoming ineligible for the Tony awards unless exceptions are made to the rules allowing for shows effected in this time frame to still be considered should their opening be delayed beyond the original window of qualification. With Six opening tonight, it COULD end up being the last show to officially qualify under the rules.

OR

Continuing performances and let ticket holders make that choice for themselves while still allowing those not willing to take that risk/can't travel due to restrictions the option of a refund. The pro here is that the cast and crew are still getting paid and they will not be refunding all tickets while the cons here are of course safety but also spending the same operational costs as normal to play to partial or severely discounted houses.

It's a tough call to make and it's possible that the choice will soon be taken from them all together. 

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 1:09am

Seeing a show is a luxury for the fans but a livelihood for the people in them.

I work for the USPS. I cant work from home.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 1:09am

I’ve been traveling for work today. My last flight today was at least half empty. This is pretty rare these days. Maybe it was because I was flying to Scranton (lol), but I suspect people are already modifying their behavior. My work flights next week look about the same.

My concern is growing. With me traveling this week, I’m worried if I can even visit my 83 y.o. mom with dementia at her nursing home on Sunday. My visits are important to both of us, but I don’t want to endanger her or the other residents.

The concerns that SouthernCakes has expressed are real. People have to stay safe, but they also need income to survive. I depend on my work travel to supplement my retirement income.

We all want this virus to be vanquished. We all want our loved ones to be safe. We all want Broadway (and other) theater to survive this. It will survive, but possibly not without some casualties.

Anecdotally, I did notice men in bathrooms today being more vigilant about washing their hands as well as others using hand sanitizer stations.

All of this has caused me to be reminded of the beginning of AIDS epidemic where I lost many friends. There are similarities of course, but also many differences as well.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 1:12am

mailhandler777 said: "Seeing a show is a luxury for the fans but a livelihood for the people in them.

I work for the USPS. I cant work from home. "

Yes and here in the UK I am the owner and in house director of a theatre production company and we might have to pull our upcoming production, but the company, team and cast all understand that safety has to come first. Again, America isn't special.

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 3/12/20 at 1:17am

Kad said: "It genuinely seems like some of you are willfully obtuse."

Thank you. Reading this thread has been horrifying, because I assume the general intelligence/awareness of Bway fanhood is higher than most. But this lackadaisical "oh, its just the flu" or "yeah it will hurt OLD PEOPLE" is SHOCKING in its ignorance! 

The city of Milan has a healthier population than NYC- they have universal healthcare, paid sick leave, etc. They have a HIGHER bed/patient ration than NYC. They have been working on this disease for a while- with a semi functional government, not run by a barking ignoramus who is immune to facts and science. Their hospitals are overflowing, they are turning sick people away because they have run out of respirators, and their health system is on the verge of collapse.

Doctors think that will happen here- but even if they are wrong, we must surely agree that MIGHT happen here. And if thousands of people get sick very quickly, even if the disease is totally treatable, a significant number will die because they wont be able to get treated as needed. Every one of us walking around with it, not showing any symptoms, are exposing our parents/grandparents and immuno-repressed neighbors to it, which for many can be a death sentence. And we have NO IDEA how much its spread because our govt has been unable to test- in the city of Los Angeles, a city of 10 million people, the number of people who have been tested- not confirmed to have it, just tested at all- is less than 100. 

BUT on the other hand, i have great seats to XYZ and would hate to miss.  GET A GRIP.

 


(and i say this is as someone who will be bummed if my tickets to Flying Over Sunset and/or Virginia Woolf are canceled next week but I hope our government does what it thinks is best).