Breaking: NYC Mayor De Blasio Announces Plans for Sites to Vaccinate Theatre Workers; Plans to Re-Open Broadway This Fall

Start spreading the news! New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke live from City Hall this morning to announce plans to start vaccinating theatre workers.

In the coming weeks there are plans for a dedicated vaccination site on Broadway for the theater industry, a mobile unit for off-Broadway, pop-up COVID testing sites by theatres, and plans underway to manage crowds before and after shows.

New York state vaccine eligibility does not yet include theatre workers specifically, but De Blasio's plans are intended to make the vaccine more accessible to the industry.

Actors' Equity Association, the national labor union representing more than 51,000 professional actors and stage managers in live theatre, has issued a statement in response to Mayor Bill de Blasio's announcement that the city will make dedicated vaccination and testing sites available for arts workers to support more theatres beginning work again.

"Today's announcement is an important recognition from the City of New York that a strong theatre industry means a healthy, strong economy," said Mary McColl, executive director of Actors' Equity Association. "Mayor de Blasio clearly understands that we cannot socially distance in our work, making the availability of vaccines and testing critical for maintaining a safe workplace. We have been having conversations with the Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment about safety on a regular basis throughout the pandemic. It is clear that we were heard and the city is pushing forward-looking policy changes that will serve the entire theatrical community. We are grateful for the leadership of Mayor de Blasio."

Actors' Equity began publicly asking for theatre workers to be vaccinated in New York, on a state level, on March 3, 2021.

AFM Local 802 President Adam Krauthamer said of the announcement, "The Broadway community welcomes today's announcement by NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio that the city is taking steps to work with our entire community to re-open Broadway this fall with appropriate safety measures, including vaccine sites for theatre workers and testing sites near venues. We will enthusiastically welcome our audiences back and look forward to helping make NYC the live music capital of the world once again."

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced earlier this month the long-awaited return of live indoor performance across New York State will commence April 2, 2021 with the reopening of a significant number of Flexible Venues ("Flex Venues") as part of an ongoing systematic effort to help jumpstart New York's struggling live entertainment sector. New York event, arts and entertainment venues holding less than 10,000 people will be allowed to reopen at 33% capacity beginning April 2. Up to 100 people will be allowed indoors, and 200 people will be allowed outdoors.

Read more about the current state of Broadway.