Vanity Fair on Broadway's Reopening - "Not Until There's a F**king Vaccine"

Let's not forget the news from yesterday- surface transmission much less a risk than previously thought- and make cut the risk down to 75 per cent if you wear one- and with temperature checks at the door- I would definitely see a show when the time is right- and go on an airplane if it seems safe- I bet Spring 2021 will see the opening of many shows- vaccine or not.

BWAY Baby2 said: "Let's not forget the news from yesterday- surface transmission much less a risk than previously thought- and make cut the risk down to 75 per cent if you wear one- and with temperature checks at the door- I would definitely see a show when the time is right- and go on an airplane if it seems safe- I bet Spring 2021 will see the opening of many shows- vaccine or not."

Do you really think they'd do temperature checks at the door? What if people come in with a group and one of them has a high temperature? What happens to that group? What happens to the money they spent getting there? Do you think people would risk it? Is that really a viable option?

I think "wait until there's a vaccine" is an intelligent position--not that VF's headline posed it intelligently--but it's anyone's guess what people will actually do, and thus what Broadway can actually risk.

joevitus said: "I think "wait until there's a vaccine" is an intelligent position--not that VF's headline posed it intelligently--but it's anyone's guess what people will actually do, and thus what Broadway can actually risk."

There may NEVER be a vaccine. We have many viruses without them.


I hope they don’t wait for one. A greater grasp on what we’re dealing with and go from there? Yes.

ErikJ972 said: "Considering asymptomatic spread temp checks seem pretty useless."

They also aren't accurate.

Broadway can re-open as soon as we get out of the paradigm we are in, which is now either:

A. Oh you want things to re-open? I see. I guess you want people to die for capitalism.

B. Oh you want things to stay closed? I see. I guess you want to destroy our economy and my livelihood.

Since those two sides are never going to agree, we need to somehow move past that roadblock. I hope that movie theaters are re-opened this summer, at first with some drastic capacity limit. And at some point later in the year we can see that if everyone wears a mask, doesn't touch multiple surfaces, stays home if they're sick, we can cram ourselves into our beloved Broadway houses again.

This situation is starting to remind me more and more of post 9/11, where we kept saying that life will NEVER be the same. And we did have to get through 2-3 years of New York City without its go-go-crazy energy. Of course it's different too since Broadway came back in just two days, but they did have to do all sorts of union negotiating and long-runners did shut down--you could even put Les Miz in that group even though it took almost 2 years for them to finally give up on it.

We should also remember that one of the most common, ubiquitous, inescapable elements of going to a Broadway show was LOUD COUGHERS. Not trying to exaggerate, but generally you probably couldn't count to ten in between at least one person coughing in a typical Broadway house. And did they stifle it? Did they at least try and make it sound like they're coughing into their elbow? NOOOOOOOO. Did they let that cough rip out? Phlegm and mucus and lungs and all? You bet. And we all just quivered in our seat for a second, rolled our eyes, and tried to focus on the show. What on earth are those coughers going to do now? Could you imagine if they reopened Broadway and somebody behind you coughed? You'd probably race out of there and hook yourself up to one of Trump's bleach IVs.

I have always been a bit of a germaphobe and I always had a habit of washing my hands anytime I walked past a restroom/bathroom and I avoid touching the rails on escalators and I cover door handles with my shirt even if I'm in a short sleeve shirt. So personally I welcome the rest of the world acting as neurotic as I always have been about germs. Masks? ugh I'm not a fan but if it's the choice between wearing a mask and attending a Broadway show---mask me the hell up.

One thing I'm not sure has been discussed is with Florida seeming to just say "F it, lets open", there's a LOT of theaters down there that could potentially reopen within the next couple of weeks. Will tours start up again? Will smaller productions come together and play? Or will they just start with concerts? There's a lot of unknowns with that that will probably be known in just a couple weeks.

Jordan Catalano said: "One thing I'm not sure has been discussed is with Florida seeming to just say "F it, lets open", there's a LOT of theaters down there that could potentially reopen within the next couple of weeks. Will tours start up again? Will smaller productions come together and play? Or will they just start with concerts? There's a lot of unknowns with that that will probably be known in just a couple weeks."

I live in Sarasota, and subscribe to two local theatre companies. In addition, I attend a lot of performances at our touring theatre, which plays a lot of touring shows, acts like Tony Bennett, old rock groups, 'homage' shows, Boston Pops, you get the idea.

I recently turned 70. What I like about attending the theatre in SRQ is that I sometimes feel like a youngster, with the average age probably being 75 - 80. I have already pid for my subscriptions to both local theatre companies, although -- as time goes by -- I am beginning to think that I will probably not see anything until there is a vaccine or prophylactic medication. I honestly expect those theatres -- assuming they do not cancel their seasons -- to be pretty empty if they do open, but I could be surprised. Sarasota County voted 60% for the a**-hole in the White House, which does make me question whether my assumptions are actually really wrong. Will be very interesting to see.

@DrewJoseph these are all good questions and the answers will preclude many/most shows even if they can overcome the severe limitation on capacity.

The subject at hand seems to be shifting. The article was about Broadway, which is unique for a variety of reasons. Now we are talking about Florida but it is not clear exactly what we are talking about. Tours present their own share of issues. (A tour cannot be organized "in the next couple of weeks," and by definition would need not just one stop but a bunch, and this is a matter of months (and not just a couple) not weeks. Of course any show, tour or not, has the other minor impediment of rehearsal.) Then there is the question of Equity/Non-Equity, the former being a major roadblock. Which leaves us with the possibility, at some point this year, of a local or regional theatre doing something, which will depend on, among other things, how nuts they are, how such a plan will collide with the almost inevitable second wave (or first wave spike?), a marketing plan that has more than a snowball's chance in Hialeah in August of success, etc. My bottom line: don't hold your breath for anything that looks like real theatre.

blm2323 said: "joevitus said: "I think "wait until there's a vaccine" is an intelligent position--not that VF's headline posed it intelligently--but it's anyone's guess what people will actually do, and thus what Broadway can actually risk."

There may NEVER be a vaccine. We have many viruses without them.


I hope they don’t wait for one. A greater grasp on what we’re dealing with and go from there? Yes."

This. A vaccine would be the best scenario, and there was a very promising candidate for one that was reported recently, arguably the most promising one yet, but of course as science goes, it needs more levels of tests and trials. And that's if all goes well with it. And even if we do get one at all, it will still likely be a while anyway, regardless of Operation Warp Speed. Science can only work so fast. I'd rather we figure out to live with it at this point, but there lies the very problem...the closures were to buy time to do just that, but our 'leader' and many others just don't see it that way. Certain states are just opening everything, or most everything, willy nilly without much thought to consequences.

"Broadway can re-open as soon as we get out of the paradigm we are in, which is now either:

A. Oh you want things to re-open? I see. I guess you want people to die for capitalism.

B. Oh you want things to stay closed? I see. I guess you want to destroy our economy and my livelihood."

Yes, they won't agree because they're both right. So there was nothing to agree on in the first place. I already wrote a long schpiel in another thread about why this is, and I won't go into it here, but needless to say that paradigm is what happens when the nation was so woefully unprepared for this, ignored warnings from even last fall, and STILL refused to do anything TO prepare.

As for temp checks? People that are asymptomatic is a thing...also, if this is done in summer, people are going to be warm anyway so there's that. (Obviously no Broadway this summer, but you get the point), and aside from my thoughts on how invasive that would be and a slippery slope to other civil issues (some employers are already planning this for when they return and I'm NOT a fan...the Navy Yard is thinking of one of those things you strap to your ankle or waist to keep you far from others. Yeah, NO), there better be a contingent plan in place for if someone DID have to be turned away because of a high temp in terms of a refund or exchange. Along with coughing, people also have a high temp for other reason too. While humans did need to step up their hygiene game overall and this chaos seems to have been a catalyst for that, people who are bothered by every cough and sneeze are taking this a bit too far. Clean your home moderately often and well, wash your hands, touch your face as little as possible (I'm sorry, to not do it all is literally impossible from a psych perspective), etc. Take good precautions yes, but good grief don't get bent out of shape by the guy behind you in the grocery line who coughed a bit. I know this was an off topic tangent, but a better use of our time is how to prep for that inevitable second wave.