The Truth About the State of Broadway

No one is talking about what’s really going on behind the lobby doors on Broadway. In an effort to get to the “new normal” and for life to “move on” post Covid there’s a lot that’s been swept under the rug in a seeming attempt to prove the adage “ignorance is bliss.” But being tired of wearing masks and isolating does not mean the pandemic is over. It’s not going to end just because we want it to and decide to act like it has. And the repercussions are devastating our industry.

Everything in this article is taken from first-hand interviews with Broadway workers comprising a myriad of jobs both in front of and behind the curtain. All have asked to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions. That’s not ok. “Shutting up and toeing the line” is not doing anyone any favors. Over 800,000 people in the United States have died from Covid – that means most people must have personal or one degree removed experience with someone they know dying of the disease in the past two years…yet no one is talking about the loss we’ve faced and the worse loss we’re staring down the barrel of if we don’t do something to change.

Yes, we all want Broadway to be back. I do too, desperately! But magical thinking is not what we need right now.

Let me pull the curtain back for you:

“Broadway staff are getting assaulted on a daily basis. No, I’m not exaggerating, I’m very serious. You want specifics? Staff members having their masks ripped off their faces by audience members who are angry about protocol. Audience members taking masks off and then screaming in the faces of staff members. Patrons trying to get front-of-house members in trouble because they were asked to put their mask on. Patrons grabbing staff. Broadway bartenders being assaulted by a patron who was angry that the show was being canceled last minute finally broke through into news. But that’s the only incident I’ve heard of that did so. There are audience members with fake vaccine cards, audience members who aren’t vaccinated claiming religious exemption (dear God, what happens if someone from either of those groups is the person taking off their mask???) I love audience members (usually,) and it has been a joy to see many happily complying with protocol and so thankful to be in a theater again. But it’s far from everyone and we’re not talking about it. Of course shows are going to be shutting down with people acting like that. Of course, Covid is going to keep spreading. And guess what? Us workers can’t do anything about it. I want theaters to reopen too…but there’s so much emphasis on keeping theaters open that WE’RE NOT SAFE and we can’t do anything about it.”

“I really don’t think people understand that the Covid vaccine won’t stop you from getting Covid…it’ll just (likely) stop you from dying of it. Stop using “I’m vaccinated” as an excuse to not be careful anymore. You can still get it and get very sick. You can still get it and give it to other people (including immune compromised people and children too young to be vaccinated.) I’m so tired of hearing “But I’m vaccinated!” Great! I’m so glad you are! Everyone should be! But I still don’t want to catch it from you. When did we completely stop caring about social responsibility in favor of just doing whatever the hell we want?”

“I’ve honestly lost count of how many former coworkers have died in the past two years. I came back to my theater, and no one even addressed the elephant in the room that many staff members were no longer there…because they’d died. Of Covid. Does no one care? I feel so protective of everyone I work with, and sometimes it really feels like the higher ups, and, yes, audiences, don’t care if we die as long as their comfort and bottom line aren’t interrupted. Did anyone even ask us what WE need to feel safe going back to a theater? Were there procedures put in place to protect us? No. I feel like we’re disposable and if I died because procedures weren’t followed or precautions weren’t taken, no one would care.”

“Nothing has changed. If I get sick, I don’t get sick days. Broadway staff are being thrown into unhealthy situations and we’re doing it just so we can try to start and repay the debt we accumulated over the past two years. I’ve had patrons grab me, get in my face without a mask and worse.”

“Most of the time our Covid compliance officer doesn’t even show up at our theater. Front of house staff are walking in with no one there to check their test results. Does anyone realize that? Half the staff at our theater could have Covid, or just not be getting tested, and no one would know.”

“A lot of Broadway bartenders are out of a job. And there’s no unemployment anymore. We’ve all maxed out our weeks, and we haven’t been back at work long enough to requalify even if we hadn’t. If everyone would just do their part we wouldn’t be in this mess.”

“There’s no safety net anymore. Everyone saw the numbers go down in the summer and rushed to reopen just assuming everything would be fine. Now we’re all closing again and everyone is somehow shocked. There’s no more unemployment, there’s no sick pay, it’s not just sad when a Broadway show closes, it means we’re all in danger of being out on the street. This is serious. Does anyone get that this virus is literally life or death?”

“Everyone’s praising standbys and understudies as heroes (as they should – but they’re heroes ALL the time, not just now…) but in this instance, I wouldn’t use the word “hero.” More like the ones who get thrown in the firing squad. Doesn’t matter if we’re sick…if we don’t go on, the show is cancelled. We’re the last line of defense and the last ones in a cast whose health is given consideration.”

“Can everyone please stop acting like the pandemic is over? I’m so tired of seeing people out and about without a mask. Socializing. Come on folks, I know it’s annoying, and I know we’re all tired of it, but do you not realize there are still repercussions? That audience member who took their mask off when no one was looking – they might be the person responsible for half the cast getting sick. And it happens constantly!”

“Is anyone talking about the fact that certain theater owners are refusing to pay for tests? Anyone? And urgent care can’t guarantee that you won’t be billed if you don’t have insurance. So, yeah…there are a lot of Broadway staff members who honestly have no guaranteed access to free testing…and one out of pocket test can run a weeks salary. Does anyone care?”

“I’m a Broadway worker and there is NO WAY I would go see a show now. I’m here because I need a job and during the show I go hide downstairs away from any groups of people. After seeing what I’ve witnessed over the past few months I 100% do not feel safe in the auditorium of a theater…and it’s primarily because of the audiences and their behavior…”

“A lot of Broadway performers get tested when they enter the theater (at half hour) so they’re not finding out their (sic) positive till 15 min before the show (hence the last minute cancelations)…after they’ve been walking around (sometimes maskless) backstage…no wonder Covid is rampant backstage! Omicron has such a fast incubation period…and a negative test only tells you if you were negative at the moment you were tested…”

“This could have worked if everyone really took this seriously, and worked together. But that’s not what’s happened. Broadway is totally headed for a full shutdown…we’re all talking about it. We’ve all heard about it. I hope it doesn’t have to happen, but I’d rather people be safe. And right now we’re not – and that’s what no one seems to be acknowledging. Theater is supposed to be the pinnacle of collaboration, cooperation, a unified experience we’re all a part of. Right now it’s not that…and it’s destroying not only theater, but, sorry to sound schmaltzy, the world. I’m once again out of a job with no unemployment, no emergency grants, because people just couldn’t manage to not wear a mask, and not physically attack people in a theater when things didn’t go their way. I feel broken.”

Broadway audiences and “powers that be”…your move.