Tonight's performance of ALADDIN cancelled due to breakthrough COVID cases — Page 4

Broadwaybuff17 said: "Yes i understand 100’s of million people have died.. we’re over 18 months into this pandemic... you’re entering the safest possible social environment there is on earth with a 100% vaccinated crowd. If you believe in vaccines then who cares if a cast member got it, bring in the backup and perform the show. Welcome to the new world.. things must go on.. Again sick and tired of people preaching vaccines and how amazing they are and then decide to cancel a show with a vaccinated crowd. If you are in the boat where you can’t take risks, then you shouldnt be at the show in the first place. The person sitting next to you could easily have a breakthrough infection. Again at this point testing is pointless... if anything do them and let people know refunds are available if there’s a positive.. but canceling for 10 days is beyond INSANE."

Do you not get it? A large enough number of people have contracted Covid in this production that they don’t have enough standing by to cover them. And those who have it need 10 days to self isolate and recover- and test negative again. If you don’t get that- you are insane.

They should NEVER have done that second performance.


I’m afraid to say that this is going to keep happening. Sadly you are at that point that the West End was at months and months ago, with shows being shut down for days on end.

Listen... At this point, if you are vaccinated why are you scared of covid? FYI I am fully vaccinated... If you are still scared of attending a room with a fully vaccinated crowd, then why is everyone obsessed with unvaccinated people getting vaxxed? What difference does it make to you if someone else is unvaxxed? I got vaxxed knowing that if im in a room with someone that has covid, who was also vaxxed, the chances of anything bad happening to me are slim to none... my argument is that at some point in an atmosphere where everyone is vaxxed, even if the performers test positive for covid... the show must go on... big deal , let me get covid in that setting. Either you live with this mentality, or you stop shaming people who refuse to get vaxxed. Even if theres a 100% vaccine rate in society, covid will still be around. And yes i am very well aware many people lost their lives to this disease, but you can’t compare someone dying earlier on when this was novel, to today where we have a vaccine. Stop testing these performers. Show should only be canceled if enough performers get sick to the point where they can’t perform... whatever illness it is.

Got it! So your in the camp that’s just gonna be scared the rest of your life, or until cnn tells you basically what im saying now , at a later point in time to make it all ok.

@broadwaybuff you are either the Trump troll I suspected you were in your original post or unable to process relatively simple facts to form a rational conclusion. The issue you are trying to formulate is not on the frontiers of science. If you do not test people regularly, then one infection in a company of well over 100 people spreads to others. And yes this happens in fully vaccinated environments as "breaktroughs." As rehearsed above, we have had a number of breakthough cases in Broadway shows, and most have been handled seamlessly (meaning the identified positive cases are quarantined and the show goes on with someone else performing the infected person's job). What happened at Aladdin is that too many people got infected to mount a performance with replacements. What you are proposing is a system that would shut down many shows in the same fashion. This is not rocket science. As I said before, take your Trump trolling elsewhere.

@Buff You are defiantly ignorant. (And tbc I am not using that in the pejorative sense but simply in the literal sense.)

Oops. Wrong thread.

Updated On: 10/2/21 at 11:17 AM

According to the twitter, by Wednesday they had 8 positive cases. Performers who had done the (since closed) tour were brought in, and made their Broadway debuts. (I'm assuming for that Thursday night irresponsible performance)

"The difference between sports and (Broadway) theatre is it's a lot easier to reschedule a sports event."

Exactly. In MLB for example, it is not hard to just schedule a DH (Double Header) with team at later date. It is a little harder in NFL since they have tighter schedule,. If needed, they reschedule game when teams have one of their "bye" weeks or make it a Thursday night game one week.

Broadwaybuff17 said: "Listen... At this point, if you are vaccinated why are you scared of covid? "

Because some of us don't know how COVID would interact with our bodies should we get a breakthrough infection. I have a heart defect so the last thing I need is a virus impacting my lungs.

jbird5 said: "JGPR2 said: ""If a sports team is not able to field a team due to covid infections, it would have to forfeit the game"

Wrong. Sports teams games have been rescheduled if necessary and there is no forfeit. For example, if NFL team has all their QB's testing positive for COVID the game will be played at a later date."

Not true. This season, if an NFL team cannot field enough players, they will have to forfeit.

Last season, the Denver Broncos had all its qbs on the Covid list. They were forced to play with a wide receiver as qb. The result might as well been forfeited."

Last I heard for the NFL if the COVID outbreak is amoung unvaccinated players, the team will have to forfeit. If its among vaccinated players, the NFL will make an effort to accomodate the affected team.

"Not true. This season, if an NFL team cannot field enough players, they will have to forfeit. Last season, the Denver Broncos had all its qbs on the Covid list. They were forced to play with a wide receiver as qb. The result might as well been forfeited."

The first option is and will be to reschedule the game. There is too much money involved with TV revenue and loss of revenue from ticket sales to have game forfeited. If my memory is correct, the NFL team roster is 53 players. There are 11 players each on offense and defense. Add the punter and place kicker and you need 24 players and there are about 30 other players. There are multiple backups at every position and players who can fill in at more than one position. In addition, NFL practice squads have 16 players to help fill in if necessary. The odds on a game being forfeited are about the same as me getting a Tony nomination - jk.

Updated On: 10/2/21 at 03:06 PM

I wonder if the COVID prevention methods utilized by theater professionals will result in more people assigned to understudy a part than was previously the case. I also wonder if COVID prevention strategies will cause a downsizing in swings utilized, since someone already appearing in the production has a higher chance of having been infected from those who tested positive than someone who doesn't go on regularly.

I think Broadwaybuff could have phrased their comments more kindly, since New York was devastated by COVID and the emotional/psychological memory of that takes a toll. I also think they are missing the issue wasn't fear in the case of Aladdin, but the practical problem that there weren't enough people available for the performance to go on. But I think the general argument they make is a good one.

joevitus said: "But I think the general argument they make is a good one."

Could you identify the part that is good? I believe we do indeed have to learn to live with the virus, because there is no alternative, but we have to do that (as we are) by following science, not by ignoring it or mis-stating it. Notwithstanding this unfortunate turn of events sat Aladdin (from which we can learn something hopefully), overall it appears that we've got this. Note that while sports may allow unvaccinated idiots on their teams, we don't.

And to focus what Theatrefan said above on current data, 1,476 Americans DIED OF COVID in the last 7 days. Think about that. You wanna move on from that, bozo?

Updated On: 10/2/21 at 04:47 PM