Broadway Will Require Audiences and Performers to Be Vaccinated for COVID-19
The Broadway League announced Friday that all audience members and performers must be vaccinated for COVID-19 when theaters reopen.
Owners and operators of all 41 Broadway theaters in New York City will enforce the mandate, which also applies to all backstage crew and theater staff. The vaccine requirement will be enforced for all performances through October 2021. Audience members must show proof of vaccination along with their tickets upon entering a theater.
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In addition, face masks will be required for audience members inside the theaters, except when eating or drinking in designated areas.
The theater owners anticipate a review of the vaccination policies in September, and they may relax the rules for performances slated for November 2021 and beyond.
“As vaccination has proven the most effective way to stay healthy and reduce transmission, I’m pleased that the theatre owners have decided to implement these collective safeguards at all our Broadway houses. A uniform policy across all New York City Broadway theatres makes it simple for our audiences and should give even more confidence to our guests about how seriously Broadway is taking audience safety,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, in a statement.
Exceptions to the rules will be made for children under 12 and people with a medical condition or closely held religious belief that prevents vaccination. In these cases, the guest must show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 house of a performance’s start time or a negative COVID-19 antigen test from within six hours.
“With these procedures in place and recognizing the high vaccination rates among NYC audiences, Broadway continues to make safety our priority. As we get ready for Broadway’s big comeback, the entire theatre community is committed to the highest level of public health standards. We’re all eager to welcome our many patrons and fans back to the magic of Broadway,” said Nick Scandalios of The Nederlander Organization.
Theaters will reopen September 14 at full capacity, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced in May, after being shuttered by the pandemic since March 2020.
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