Broadway will be "mask-optional" starting July 1, 2022- Page 2

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:33pm

I mean, the positivity rate here is still over 10% in most neighborhoods in Manhattan. There's no chance at all I'm going to see a show this summer while the mask thing is optional. 

Worth nothing that EVERY single response to the Broadway League's tweet is negative.

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:38pm

I'm kind of surprised about the timing of this given how many shows have been directly impacted over the past couple weeks. I know we only got the announcements about Hugh Jackman, Abby Mueller, and Between The Lines but there have been several shows using multiple swings/alternates.

Anyway, I've got 3 shows currently scheduled for July and none for August yet so will probably leave it at that for now.

[flord10]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:38pm

To be fair, that’s totally Response Bias and probably not a good sample of the population.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:45pm

I remember when they announced no more vaccine check and people also swore they weren’t going to the theater again.

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:46pm

flord10 said: "To be fair, that’s totally Response Bias and probably not a good sample of the population."

That's true. My guess is that the League re-evaluating in July is not at all based on science but on sales.

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:48pm

I am not willing to risk my health and possibly my life by sitting cheek by jowl with strangers who are maskless in a Broadway theatre.  So, for now, I will continue to remain at home in Southern California.

Updated On: 6/21/22 at 01:48 PM

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:49pm

Jordan Catalano said: "I remember when they announced no more vaccine check and people also swore they weren’t going to the theater again."

Half a dozen shows have closed since then. Chicago was down 20% two weeks ago (last week's numbers aren't up yet). POTUS, a show with huge stars, is running under 50%. Many shows are doing well, but plenty are not.

[kwoc91]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:57pm

pagereynolds said: "Jordan Catalano said: "I remember when they announced no more vaccine check and people also swore they weren’t going to the theater again."

Half a dozen shows have closed since then. Chicago was down 20% two weeks ago (last week's numbers aren't up yet). POTUS, a show with huge stars, is running under 50%. Many shows are doing well, but plenty are not."

Do you honestly believe that Chicago being down 20% two weeks ago is due to people not feeling comfortable sitting among potentially unvaccinated theatergoers?

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 1:58pm

kwoc91 said: "pagereynolds said: "Jordan Catalano said: "I remember when they announced no more vaccine check and people also swore they weren’t going to the theater again."

Half a dozen shows have closed since then. Chicago was down 20% two weeks ago (last week's numbers aren't up yet). POTUS, a show with huge stars, is running under 50%. Many shows are doing well, but plenty are not."

Do you honestly believe that Chicago being down 20% two weeks ago is due to people not feeling comfortable sitting among potentially unvaccinated theatergoers?"

I think tourists aren't coming to New York to see Chicago, is what I think.

[quizking101]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 2:06pm

As a nurse, I’m of the mindset that were at the point of the pandemic where, unfortunately with COVID not really going away, there needs to start being some adaptation to a world where we coexist with it. 

As I stressed with the pearl clutchers on Twitter - nobody is holding a gun to your head to go to the theatre and remove your mask when you are there, but everyone has to do their own personal safety risk assessment before they do so. This (engaging in unmasked public activities) has been ongoing now in society for roughly a year and so this is the last domino to fall.

I do wish that theatre companies will make refunds more flexible again for those who no longer feel safe - but we can’t lie to ourselves and say this wasn’t coming down the pike.

[kwoc91]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 2:06pm

pagereynolds said: "I think tourists aren't coming to New York to see Chicago, is what I think."

Well we agree on that! :)

[UWS10023]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 2:06pm

The timing of this seems appropriate especially since the masking policies have been dropped in airports and on airplanes. We have been headed towards personal choice with this issue. I think too that anyone who has wanted to be vaccinated has done so. The government did everything they could including paying people to do so.

[OhHiii]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 2:07pm

pagereynolds said: "Jordan Catalano said: "I remember when they announced no more vaccine check and people also swore they weren’t going to the theater again."

Half a dozen shows have closed since then. Chicago was down 20% two weeks ago (last week's numbers aren't up yet). POTUS, a show with huge stars, is running under 50%. Many shows are doing well, but plenty are not."

Your examples are most definitely not indicative of a trend as result of lifting vax mandate. You're really citing the week immediately after Chicago had a star leave the show and a play, none of which have been doing well other than the star-vehicles?

[peterparker1]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 2:25pm

pagereynolds said: "kwoc91 said: "pagereynolds said: "Jordan Catalano said: "I remember when they announced no more vaccine check and people also swore they weren’t going to the theater again."

Half a dozen shows have closed since then. Chicago was down 20% two weeks ago (last week's numbers aren't up yet). POTUS, a show with huge stars, is running under 50%. Many shows are doing well, but plenty are not."

Do you honestly believe that Chicago being down 20% two weeks ago is due to people not feeling comfortable sitting among potentially unvaccinated theatergoers?"

I think tourists aren't coming to New York to see Chicago, is what I think."

I agree- but they aren't seeing Chicago because of Covid...

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:03pm

Keep your mask on, wash your hands. 

[Dollypop]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:04pm

I guess now all those dear young men who wander about the theaters carrying the "Mask Up" signs will be unemployed. How terribly sad.

[annang]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:23pm

I'm reaching out to theaters today to see whether I can cancel July tickets while this surge is still going on. One-way masking is not nearly as effective as two-way masking, especially when the infected person is the one unmasked.

I wonder whether all the "personal choice" people are going to say the same thing when we start to feel the repercussions of a 20% Long Covid rate and mass disability? Because that's what I'm trying to avoid, for myself and others. And no amount of "personal choice" will protect us from the huge changes society will have to make when more and more people are unable to work or care for themselves, especially as healthcare workers are leaving the profession in droves.

[Phantom4ever]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:32pm

I did 7 Broadway shows in 4 days last week and number of people who coughed and sneezed their way through shows will have me definitely continuing with the mask. 

But it really was just on the streets of New York in general where I really felt I needed a mask. I can't even say the the amount of times that people walking on the sidewalk turned behind them to cough or sneeze which put their droplets right in my face!   And they would always look at me like I was the annoying one for getting in the way of their cough or sneeze. 

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:33pm

Phantom4ever said: "I did 7 Broadway shows in 4 days last week and number of people who coughed and sneezed their way through shows will have me definitely continuing with the mask.

But it really was just on the streets of New York in general where I really felt I needed a mask. I can't even say the the amount of times that people walking on the sidewalk turned behind them to cough or sneeze which put their droplets right in my face! And they would always look at me like I was the annoying one for getting in the way of their cough or sneeze."

You might not want to stand so close to people.

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:35pm

It's easy to think people who don't feel safe attending shows can simply not do so. I'm reminded of the theater staff in Gothamist's article from a few weeks ago who said they were glad for the Covid protocols and masks because they felt safer when they had to interact with so many people. So much for that.

https://forum.broadwayworld.com/readmessage.php?thread=1153383

 

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:44pm

Wick3 said: "Will they still require actors and theater staff to take a Covid test 2x a week?"

Yes, at least for one of the theater owners. A friend of mine told me staff will still be required to wear masks and be tested weekly. I think it is now at once a week.

 

I mean, we saw this coming. I will still wear a mask at least through the coming cold and flu season. But we aren't seeing cases like we have been. People are not wearing them at concerts and sporting events and they haven't been "spreader" events. I am going to a concert tonight that I think does not require one but I will still wear mine.

And as mentioned above, masks protect you and stop you from spreading it if you have it. I have been in situations where lots of people were maskless and I wore one. Have not tested positive since I got it back in mid 2021. It is what it is and we are where we are. Just do what you feel is right for you, your health and mental well being.

 

[pagereynolds]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:45pm

uncageg said: "Wick3 said: "Will they still require actors and theater staff to take a Covid test 2x a week?"

Yes, at least for one of the theater owners. A friend of mine told me staff will still be required to wear masks and be tested weekly. I think it is now at once a week.



I mean, we saw this coming. I will still wear a mask at least through the coming cold and flu season. But we aren't seeing cases like we have been. 

"

I mean, if we are talking about using facts, our numbers are 10x higher than they were last summer.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:49pm

I mean NYC like most big city's is pretty gross. But NYC is unique in that you are forced to interact with people. So I would 100% stay masked up.

[R. GreenFinch]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 3:54pm

Updated On: 8/18/22 at 03:54 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 6/21/22 at 4:03pm

pagereynolds said: "uncageg said: "Wick3 said: "Will they still require actors and theater staff to take a Covid test 2x a week?"

Yes, at least for one of the theater owners. A friend of mine told me staff will still be required to wear masks and be tested weekly. I think it is now at once a week.



I mean, we saw this coming. I will still wear a mask at least through the coming cold and flu season. But we aren't seeing cases like we have been.

"

I mean, if we are talking about using facts, our numbers are 10x higher than they were last summer."

 

And as mentioned by R. GreenFinch, case numbers are different from death numbers. Fact is, there are way less deaths. We are going to have to learn to live with this.