Tag said: "Some shows are using rapid PCR tests as well now."
There are three types of tests being offered to house staff and crew: rapid, rapid pcr, and lab pcr. Each production appears to decide for itself how cast and musicians are tested. To my knowledge, Come from Away is the only show that requires the lab pcr for everyone, though I thought I had heard one or two other shows had started that requirement, too. There's also no consistency between shows as to how many times a week everyone is tested.
There are simply not enough people to cover absences, which is why these shows are canceling performances. And since passing on a virus doesn't result in immediate detection, it's becoming an untenable situation. We have one or more cast/crew members testing positive, who are then re-tested and sent home. Everyone who works closely with them is notified and retested. But, the infected have likely already exposed others, who are still possibly incubating. Meanwhile you still have cast and crew scheduling time off, or calling out (for whatever reason), etc. Now you have another (or more) positive test result. So now we have additional people out, and no coverage.
Broadway is a business, so how many replacement actors can we expect them to employ, when salaries are a show's largest expense? This is going to be an endless cycle, which is going to start affecting the advanced sales (the lack of which will close a show). Also, why does a show like Hamilton, which should have a large number of alumni they can call in, decide to cancel instead? We seem to forget that there are a number of people in the arts who refuse to get vaccinated, which also may be tainting the availability of additional cast and crew (I know many theaters are struggling for ushers, who simply didn't come back, so I'm sure the same goes for actors, stagehands, musicians, etc).
