www.ticketnews.com: New York Governor Kathy Hochul removed the statewide mandate requiring businesses either ask customers for proof of full COVID vaccination or that a face mask be worn at all times indoors – but Broadway isn’t along for the shift. The Broadway League has decided to keep its requirements in place for all those who attend as well as cast and crew members.
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I’m honestly pretty surprised that New York in general has lifted the mask mandate. I was in New York City multiple times during the pandemic, from the beginning until most recently when Omicron first hit, and it was pretty rare to not see almost everyone in a public space wearing a mask. I think it is very important that Broadway has kept the requirement. Broadway has already taken such big hits by the pandemic. In addition it is pretty hard to social distance in a theatre space. Many Broadway theatres are old and have very close together seating. And while they could block out some seats, most theatres would never do that. It’s not economical to not try to sell every seat. It takes a lot to run a show and right now even with the return of Broadway we see so many shows struggling to stay afloat. Right now keeping masks is the best option to keep theatre open in New York.
Masks should have never been politicized. It’s simple really, masks keep us safe. If worn consistently and correctly, they prevent the spread of COVID-19 by limiting the number of fluid exchanges amongst individuals. And I mean, the same could be said for vaccines. Therefore, reading about New York city relaxing on masks and vaccine requirements is terrifying. Especially if one comes to consider the fact that the omicron variant is hitting strong, and COVID-19 is yet to be over. Nevertheless, Broadway does it right as they continue to maintain strict COVID mitigating strategies enforcing the once universal rules and regulations. I know I, as of this moment, would much rather attend a production knowing everyone is vaccinated and masked than not. After all, these preventive measures (just like the mask and vaccines) are set in place for the safety of audience members, actors, crew, and anyone else involved in the process.
I am glad that despite New York's relaxing its masking policies, Broadway understands the importance of maintaining these standards for the general public's health and wellness. It is incredibly infuriating to me that the use of masks became intertwined with one's political ideology. There is this idea that conservatives are anti-mask, and progressives/liberals are pro-mask. Because of this standard, people now will choose to be anti-mask just so they aren't associated with a specific political ideology. I think New York relaxing mask policies is a mistake. The city is very populated, and small, so people are always around each other. While yes, some people are vaccinated, vaccination status also falls into the same political trap as masking, meaning there is a good amount of people still unvaccinated. At least Broadway understands this.
Broadway need to keep its mask mandates if it wants to ensure its future. This is not only the safest stance for its employees and audiences but also the safest option for their finances. It has been proven time and time again that masks are effective for the pandemic. Broadway has been royally screwed over by the pandemic, and the faster this thing ends, the better the chance for Broadway to revive. I always think like back in 2016, before Hamilton, there was so much talk about how Broadway was dying. And then that Lin Manuel Miranda miracle happened and things looked up again. I wonder if Broadway is looking for another miracle like that. Because every show since then has been something similar to Hamilton. Modern, less classical, more “hip” and more “diverse”. Anyways, lifting the mandate in the most packed city in America is stupid. At least Broadway knows what is good for them.
Good for Broadway. There has been a lot of pressure on Broadway since the beginning of the pandemic because so many people followed their original closure. I don’t see anything wrong with them keeping vaccinations and masks mandatory. If anyone doesn’t want to comply that sucks for them guess they can’t see the show. The biggest problem I see with situations like this is miscommunication making people angry. If you’re planning a trip to New York and you see that there is no mask mandate with a vaccine you might assume that you’re good to go. Once you show up and can’t get into your show you might be a little pissed. I don’t think that people who don’t plan accordingly should be rewarded but I can see how it would be annoying for every different place to have different rules. Overall, I think that Broadway is doing what is best for all of the people they work with, for, and will continue to inspire and people are just going to have to take a breath and deal with it.
It still feels surreal to me that face masks and vaccinations are no longer required in New York. The past two years of this pandemic have both flown by and have also been painfully slow. I genuinely don’t know how to feel any more about covid regulations with so many conflicting viewpoints and theories on if this is really the end of Covid-19. While I never minded the masks, I will say that covid regulations impact on nightlife has really sucked. I miss being able to go out with friend, it was surreal to go backing during the height of the pandemic to places like Albania that had absolutely no covid regulations whatsoever. During my entire journey there I only saw two people wearing masks after visiting three separate cities, and the two people wearing the masks were also foreigners. I’ve also spoken with some friends of mine who are doctors in Sweden, and they also say that regulations are silly and unneeded. While I am still undecided if regulations are necessary, I do feel as though the next couple months are the light at the end of this pandemic. For too long has society and culture been on hold by this awful virus and I can’t wait for life to hopefully return to some semblance of normal.
It really shows how tumultuous of a situation that we are in. A 40,000 7-day new case average is wild and the fact that it can just fluctuate so wildly is disheartening.
I think it's good that Broadway is choosing to adhere to a more rigid mask policy in compared to it's local mandates and ordinances but as I have said on previous articles, it's not at all surprising. To contribute to rising cases is to contribute to a set of conditions that caused Broadway to be unable to perform for quite a long time. Producers don't want to take another loss and will, in it's best interest, likely keep making moves to help keep cases low.
I do think we are nearing the end of this, but all it would take is an easily transmissable strain as deadly as the original virus we were dealing with for us to be right back at square one. The fatigue is really starting to set in.
For me, the biggest issue I've had with the way the pandemic has been handled is the lack of unification or cohesiveness in making mandates and guidelines. Now, I completely support continuing to mandate mask-wearing and vaccinations both on Broadway and in the wider world. My issue is more that we're seeing an end to more and more mandates and a huge relaxing of guidelines simply because people are tired of the pandemic and longing for a return to "normalcy", whatever that might look like. Guess what? We ALL are tired of it! However, using that as an excuse to preemptively end mandates intended to help manage this crisis is just irresponsible. Are they perfect? Absolutely not. Will cases still happen, even with the mandates in place? Absolutely. But, all it'll take is one singular new strain to put us right back into the thick of it, and chances are - when and if that happens - it will have been completely avoidable. So, good on Broadway for doing what they believe is best for the health of their performers and audience members (even if there probably is a deeply financial motivation behind it).
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