Broadway theaters mandating COVID-19 vaccinations face masks

All 41 Broadway theaters in New York will require vaccinations for all audience members, performers, theater staff and backstage crew through October. 

Audience members will be required to wear masks except for when eating and drinking in designated locations, the Broadway League announced Friday. 

Theater guests will need to be fully vaccinated with a shot approved by the Food and Drug Administration or World Health Organization to attend a show. They must show proof of vaccination with their tickets, according to the new policies. A person is considered fully vaccinated 14 days after the second dose of a two-shot COVID-19 vaccine or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine. 

Theater owners expect to review the policies in September for November performances and might include a “relaxation of certain provisions if the science dictates,” the Broadway League said. 

“As vaccination has proven the most effective way to stay healthy and reduce transmission, I’m pleased that the theater owners have decided to implement these collective safeguards at all our Broadway houses,” Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, said in a statement. “A uniform policy across all New York City Broadway theaters makes it simple for our audiences and should give even more confidence to our guests about how seriously Broadway is taking audience safety.”

Exceptions to the rules apply to children under age 12 and people with medical conditions or religious beliefs that prevent vaccination. However, those people must show proof of a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken within 72 hours of the performance start time or a negative COVID-19 antigen test taken within six hours of the start time. 

Sign up for Daily Newsletters

Share this post