With Broadway slowly reopening across New York City after almost 18 months of closing there are some significant changes that have taken place to ensure the safety of the cast, crew and most importantly the viewing audience.
Broadway is following recent recommendations from the CDC and the implementation of the vaccination and mask mandate. Anyway, wishing to see a show on the Great White Way will need to provide proof of vaccination and wear a mask throughout the entire performance as well as arriving and departing the theater.
Children under the age of 12 will need to provide a negative test result before they can enter a Broadway theater but Carnegie Hall and the Metropolitan Opera have universally decided at this time they will prevent unvaccinated people from seeing their productions, as it is the safer option for the audience.
Attending performances in person are going to be very different moving forward. We are going to have to take our time but also more importantly make sure we provide the correct documentation but also ensure we are masked up.
Performances like Hadestown, Wicked, Company and Chicago are slowly returning to a life pre-pandemic, but the difference being that there are weekly tests taken by the cast and crew to ensure there is no spread of Covid-19 back stage.
The testing that takes place is 2-3 times a week and is to make sure that the performances can go ahead but also most importantly that the everyone is safe and prevent this virus from further disrupting everyday life.
Sales for these performances have continued to be strong, following the announcement of their return. As the vaccination and mask mandate takes effect, people are returning to traveling to the Big Apple and seeing a Broadway show. With the return of audiences it has also guaranteed that the gig workers have been able to find gainful employment, coincidentally as their Federally funded employment benefits expire this week.
It has been a long time waiting for the Broadway theaters to reopen. It has been a long 18 months without a live performance taking place on a Broadway stage. As much as we all tried to watch the various incarnations of streaming a Broadway performance, they are not quite the same as seeing them live in person. The anticipation, the audience interaction and most importantly feeling part of a community. All of this was put on hold to deal with the pandemic that swept the globe.
With tourism accounting for two thirds of Broadway ticket sales, it is important that the new mandates are handled correctly. It is important that it becomes a seamless part of attending a show with the anticipation of almost 45 showing planning to return in the coming month and not wanting to experience another extended hiatus.
Broadway whether you love it or hate it, is a strong part of the New York culture and it is important that it is supported like many other organizations that have suffered during this pandemic. But the one important thing to remember about Broadway is that the fans will always be eager to return.