The show, and the mask, must go on!
The Broadway League, an organization of over 700 members representing theater owners and producers, announced on Friday that they are extending their mask mandate for audiences through June 30th. The rule was previously set to expire on May 30, but was extended as rates of COVID infection have increased in New York City recently. A decision will be made about July in mid-June. In mid-April, theaters stopped checking for proof of vaccination, easing some of the bottlenecks before curtain time.
“The safety and security of our cast, crew, and audience has been our top priority,” Charlotte St. Martin, president of the League, said. In April, several shows, including the Daniel Craig and Ruth Negga-led Macbeth had to shut down due to COVID cases.
The 41 Broadway houses are some of the last holdouts in the city that are requiring masks, though schools recently implemented a “request, not require” policy due to the uptick in cases. Clubs, concerts, and sporting events do not require masks, unless they are at not-technically-Broadway, but not-typical-pop-venues like Carnegie Hall or Lincoln Center. This writer can personally report that there are, indeed, mask monitors circling Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater ready to pounce if even a nose slips out.
Mayor Eric Adams remains vehemently opposed to issuing new mandates, directing his energies to “focus on antiviral treatments and at-home testing.”
“When I was hit with Covid, it was just a tickle in my throat. I was still able to exercise, didn’t have any breathing issues, no pain,” he said recently, suggesting that booster shots and swiftly dosing with Paxlovid at the first sign of infection is the way to go. (Paxlovid, which is free, will be sent directly to your front door a few hours after being prescribed by a physician in New York City.)
Whether an extension of the Broadway mask mandate will accomplish anything for an audience who just came from a crowded pre-show dinner or a ride on the subway where fewer and fewer people are masking up remains to be seen. But one thing is for certain: we now have another month in which some dunce might think they can maybe pull a fast one by Patti LuPone.
As we have previously reported, the Tony-nominated star of Company recently took an audience member to task for not properly wearing their mask, then ripped the individual to shreds when she dared talk back (to thunderous applause, naturally). Indeed, the ticketing app TodayTix seized upon the opportunity to create a line of LuPone Rant merch. Because what’s better than strolling down Schubert Alley in a sweatshirt that reads “Who Do You Think You Are?”
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