Delta & Broadway?

I know nobody wants to think about this. But after the last 15 months, I can't be the only one who has fallen into the "waiting for the other shoe to drop" abyss.

Is anyone else worried that the Delta variant (B.1.617) could potentially put Broadway's fall reopening plans in jeopardy? I've been trying (successfully) to suppress that worry for the past few weeks. But with Delta's upcoming dominance in the US now seeming like an inevitability, I can't help but be a little panicked.

Please don't crucify me for this; it's been a year.

The vaccines are highly effective. Just get vaccinated if you haven’t been, and especially encourage the hesitant to get vaccinate.

There will never be a “No Covid” world, unfortunately. But not getting very ill and/or dying? That’s what the vaccines prevent. That’s what I’m happy about, and why I won’t give into the fear porn right now. I made sure I was protected, and encourage everyone to do the same if they haven’t yet.

Look, I’m not an epidemiologist or a scientist, and am only following what they’ve been sharing with the public as of late, but if THEY aren’t vaccinated, and WE are, Rox, THEY have the problem of catching this severe variant and getting very ill and/or dying. We really don’t. I hate to make it sound divisive, but I really feel it’s come down to it.


Glad you’re vaxxed! Enjoy your summer!

I agree with the above. The vaccines are effective against Delta, and as I see it the only risk for the vaccinated is if they have someone (child, allergic, etc.) in their life who is not able to get vaccinated. The vaccine rates in the theatre-going areas of NYC are very high, to the point of amazement. Requiring vaccinations should result in broad confidence of safety. What worries me is not personal safety but that the OP's general fears are going to keep a lot of vaccinated people away. That would be disastrous especially because way too many shows are set to open this fall. Color my fingers crossed.

I will 100% honest with you, I thought this was a thread about Delta Burke coming back to Broadway...guess my morning Designing Women episode is on my brain.

We will never go back to where things were 14 months ago. Not ever. Our economy would implode and Americans would just start murdering people if we were to go into lock down again. So, the variant won't close businesses again, schools again, or close theater. Absolutely not.

Vaccinations save lives and if this variant scares people inside getting it, that is fine with me.

The current evidence is that a booster is not likely to be needed for around a year, if then. This is a good time to remember that the goal is not technical eradication of virus infections, but effective diminishment. In areas like NYC where there is effectively herd immunity, bringing in infected idiots is of epidemiologic concern in the sense that they need to be kept out of potential super spreader spaces but not really to us non-idiots. Yes there will be some breakout but as long as it is asymptomatic, it is of no more concern than any other non-threatening illness. And note that the theatre district main zip code (10036) is now 100% vaccinated. Wow.

I am heartened by the fact that Japan and Korea have largely been able to keep their theater scenes going throughout the pandemic, IMO because they're more rule-abiding as a whole. Given the issues with cell phones I'm not Polyanna about Americans' adherence to mask wearing, but at least we have ~50% of the population vaccinated.

Personally, I'm more comfortable returning to theater than I am going to an indoor gym or eating inside at a restaurant, simply because theater viewing can be done masked. (Okay, technically you can wear a mask at the gym, but people breathe very heavily).

Jordan Levinson said: "I still think B'way will reopen in September as is scheduled, however,the fun will most likely end (for now) by mid- November due to the high prevalence of this variant. Even those who are fully vaccinated will have to get boosters around this time. A second shutdown may take us to at least April of next year.

Because of this, we will probably have another Mickey Mouse B'wayseason like 2019-20. What was once shaping up to be an exciting 2022 Tonys will turn out to be another joke."

No offense, but considering that that could be a death blow for Broadway, I sincerely hope you are wrong.