Producers and Restaurateurs Take a Stand Against Covid
As the news of the Covid-19 Delta variant continues to be front and center every day, entertainment producers are enthusiastically moving forth to provide live event productions.
Big developments seem to take place by the minute.
On Thursday, Actors’ Equity Association (the union representing actors and stage managers) and the Broadway League announced that the Broadway workforce must be vaccinated, as well as engage in weekly testing.
That was followed by breaking news from the Broadway League on Friday…the announcement theatre patrons have been waiting for: All Broadway audiences, in addition to theatre staff, backstage crew and actors, must be vaccinated to attend or work. Masks will be worn in the theatre. They can be removed when drinking or eating in designated areas before the show or during intermission. According to the League, “fully vaccinated” means the performance date must be at least 14 days after the 2nd dose of a two-dose vaccine, or 14 days after a single dose Covid-19 vaccine.
Meanwhile, in the restaurant world, Danny Meyer, CEO of Union Square Hospitality Group (Gramercy Tavern, Union Square Cafe in New York) released a statement stating that all workers and patrons must prove that they are vaccinated. The policy goes into effect Sept. 7
And this from City Winery’s website:Effective 8/2/21, all indoor guests of City Winery will need to provide proof of vaccination or show a negative Covid test within 72 hours, and wear masks while moving through indoor spaces.
After waiting for some direction from the all-important theatre and restaurant industries in New York, it is comforting to know that associations and individual owners are making policies to ensure the safety for all.
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
