Actors’ Equity Association and the Broadway League mandated that actors and other employees at Broadway theaters be fully vaccinated — with a few exceptions — while unvaccinated audience members will be admitted and asked to wear a mask.
The new Broadway protocols, agreed upon by the actors union and the trade association representing producers and theater owners, were disclosed to Equity members this afternoon and are less stringent than the first two shows to open on Broadway since the pandemic shuttered the industry last year. Both Springsteen on Broadway and Pass Over, a play co-produced by Lincoln Center Theater that begins previews on Wednesday, require audiences be vaccinated.
According to the new rules, all employees must be vaccinated, although those with “a qualifying disability or a sincerely held religious belief” may request an accommodation from their employer. Also exempt are children ineligible to receive the vaccine — currently kids under 12. All actors and stage managers must be tested weekly for Covid-19 at no cost to them.
Broadway is preparing to reopen in earnest this fall as Covid cases rise around the country, fueled by the highly-transmittable Delta variant.
“The parties recognize that the changing landscape of COVID-19 and its variants may require modifications in the safety protocols based on government regulations and local epidemiology,” Equity and the League wrote in their agreement.
