friday, march 13 , 2020. the washington post EZ SU c3
BY PETER MARKSNEW YORK — Suddenly, the ques-
tion “Should I go?” is better asked
of a virologist t han a theater critic.
And when that happens, people
no longer think of the theater as a
haven. It becomes at best an incu-
bator, a petri dish — and at worst,
a threat. You can’t let your mind
roam free with the beauty of art
when it is locked in place, fixated
on fear.
maybe you think of an orches-
tra or balcony seat as a place to
unwind. But it’s where I wind
myself up — my workspace — and
this week it doesn’t f eel like such a
safe space. The other day, for in-
stance, an usher assigned to the
ticket lines at “Six,” a musical I
recently attended at Broadway’s
Brooks Atkinson Theatre, was re-
ported to have come down with
covid-19. And naturally, my first
thought was: “Do I have it now,
too?”
It’s unavoidable, the paranoia
engendered by a pathogen with
no fully understood path. We all
live with uncertainty, day in and
day out. In the dark of a theater,
though, as a band plays or an actor
inveighs, you’re meant to leave
one world and join another, to
enlist in a c ommunal experience
and release yourself from your-
self, for a little while.
Now that the theaters of Broad-
way and other entertainment and
sports venues are being shuttered
for at least a month, we can begin
to reflect not only on the losses in
box-office income b ut also psychic
income. The kind we all derive
from the joy of being in a public
space, together, sharing in the
wonder at what gifted people get
up in front of us to do.
Still, the joy dissipates when
the danger you feel originates not
with the villain wreaking havoc
on the stage but the guy with the
sweaty brow and phlegmy cough
two seats down. A few y ears ago, a
woman s eated behind me sneezed
and sniffled all through the eve-
ning. I felt the wind of her breath
on the back of my neck, and sure
enough, in the days following, my
throat got sore and I ended up
with a bad cold. At the time, I
chalked it up to a critic’s occupa-
tional hazard — the bad luck of the
ticket draw.
This time, though, the dice
seem really loaded. I was sup-
posed to see a Broadway play on
Saturday, a drama by a p laywright
I admire, Tracy Letts, and I found
myself making hourly calcula-
tions. maybe they are things
you’re thinking about, too, as ven-
ues elsewhere mull t heir options:
Do the producers and theaters
have my best interests at heart or
are they more concerned aboutthe bottom line? Is the theater
being adequately safeguarded?
Are my fellow theatergoers wash-
ing their hands regularly? (Let m e
tell you: Under less fraught cir-
cumstances, a lot of men don’t.)
And speaking of cleanliness,
when organizations tell you they
are executing a “deep clean,” what
the heck does t hat mean? An extra
swipe of Lysol?
Now that the sensible is occur-
ring, and government o fficials are
issuing edicts limiting public as-
sembly, we can begin to contem-
plate the challenge of helping
those who lives are most severely
affected by the shutdown of artis-
tic endeavors. It is a heartbreak-
ing struggle for theaters — a “busi-
ness” with, in most cases, a thin
margin of error. most Broadway
shows do not recoup their invest-
ments, and most regional t heaters
in the country exist on a wing, a
prayer and an extremely fragile
mix of ticket sales and private
donations. more to the point, the
li velihoods of artists and theater
staffers depend on the support
supplied by a healthy audience.
What happens to them now? Are
there contingency plans to help
those in the theater industry who
live paycheck to paycheck?
The operative word above,
however, is “healthy.” When in-
deed the health of audience mem-
bers is the issue, theaters stand to
lose a lot more by not adequately
addressing their s afety. That, in
the end, is what patrons of their
spaces will remember.
[email protected]critic’s notebook
No safety in numbers for theater lovers
In the dark of a theater,
you’re meant to leave
one world and join
another.
“force majeure” clauses in insur-
ance contracts — protecting pro-
ducers in the event of cancella-
tions due to unforeseeable
events — could be triggered.
A number of off-Broadway
theaters — with spaces consist-
ing of fewer than 500 seats —
announced Thursday that they
were also shutting down or put-
ting off productions.
[email protected]marks the deadline for qualify-
ing for the Tony Awards, sched-
uled this year for June 7. About a
dozen shows were still to open,
and how many of those with
postponed runs will be able to
compete for Tony consideration
remains unclear.
Cuomo’s decision could pro-
vide a financial b reak for p roduc-
ers. According to people with
knowledge of the business, theduring labor strikes — at an
afternoon news conference in
Albany. The mandate prohibits
gatherings of more than 500
people throughout New York
state, effective friday at 5 p.m.
Spaces with a capacity of 500 or
fewer will be limited to half their
normal audience size.
A Broadway theater by indus-
try definition must have 499 or
more seats, so the edict applies t o
all Broadway houses in an area
on the West Side of manhattan
bounded by the Vivian Beau-
mont Theater on West 65th
Street to the north and the
Nederlander Theatre on West
41st Street to the south. Though
Cuomo’s orders require closure
by friday, the theaters closed as
of 5 p.m. Thursday.
“our priority h as b een a nd will
continue to be the health and
well-being of Broadway theater-
goers and the thousands of peo-
ple who work in the theater
industry every day,” said Char-
lotte St. martin, president of the
Broadway League, a trade group
for producers and theater own-
ers.
The league advised ticket
holders to contact “their point of
purchase” for refunds or ex-
changes and noted that perfor-
mances are scheduled to resume
“the week of April 13, 2020.”
The order leaves open many
questions about the future of the
Broadway season. march and
April are the busiest months of
the year for the openings of new
shows, and the end of Aprilbroadway from C1Broadway ordered to shut down
iStock
broadway’s 41 theaters were ordered thursday to close. March and
april are usually the prime months for new productions to open.the coronavirus outbreak
BY TIM CARMANAs soon as she opened the
door, the customer started sneez-
ing and coughing. She didn’t
sneeze directly on the food deliv-
ery driver, but “it was close
enough that I could breathe it in,”
said the DoorDash employee,
who spoke on the condition of
anonymity because he feared los-
ing his job. When he handed the
sick woman her food, the driver
briefly touched her.
“I know this sounds trivial, but
literally the tip of my pinkie
finger touched her, and I drive a
stick shift,” t he employee said. “I
drove the whole way home with
my damn pinkie finger stuck out
toward my passenger seat. I
didn’t want to make contact with
jack.”
The DoorDash driver says he
sanitized his hands in the car but
then immediately drove home
and washed his hands “like 30
times.” The incident has forced
the North Carolina man to think
about how easy it would be to
spread the novel coronavirus if he
had indeed become infected from
the sneezing and coughing cus-
tomer. He figures he delivers be-
tween 20 and 30 meals a day to
homes; he also enters almost as
many restaurants daily, touching
door handles and counters.
“If I were in a position of
authority, I would personally say
that food delivery should be shut
down nationwide, and that’s just
my opinion,” he said. “obviously,
I would not want to see that as a
driver.”
Despite the potential risks of
transmitting disease via food de-
liveries, though, experts say it’s
still a good option for diners who
are trying to avoid crowds. “I
don’t think food delivery services
are particularly risky,” said
Amesh Adalja, a physician and
senior scholar at the Johns Hop-
kins Center for Health Security.
“It’s a good way to do social
distancing, which is especiallyimportant for the elderly.”
Public health recommenda-
tions for social distancing to help
prevent the spread of the virus
dovetail with food delivery com-
panies’ “contactless” options:
Uber Eats, DoorDash (and sister
company Caviar) and Postmates
are telling customers that they
can have their deliveries left on
the porch, doorstep or another
requested area. Some are evendeveloping new products to
make the process easier.
As for other things drivers and
customers should do to mitigate
the risk of spreading the virus?
It’s a refrain we’re hearing just
about everywhere: “Just wash
your hands a lot and don’t touch
your face,” Adalja said.
The DoorDash driver said he’s
seen his deliveries increase by 25
to 30 percent in recent weeks,though he can’t say for sure
whether it’s all related to the
coronavirus. It’s also tax-refund
season, he added. The major
food-delivery companies — in-
cluding DoorDash, Caviar, Post-
mates and Uber Eats — declined
to share data on deliveries.
The four companies are rapid-
ly developing plans and protocols
for drivers, who are considered
independent contractors (al-
though California lawmakers
passed a bill last year to force the
companies to treat them as em-
ployees). The companies are in-
forming drivers to follow practic-
es encouraged by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
and other health authorities. Be-
sides regularly washing hands for
20 seconds, that includes staying
home if they’re feeling sick and
keeping surfaces clean, including
those in vehicles and hot-food
bags.
The companies are also imple-
menting new policies or stressing
current ones. Some are even cre-
ating ambitious financial plans to
support drivers who may be side-
lined. DoorDash/Caviar and
Uber Eats have implemented fi-
nancial-assistance programs
they say will compensate drivers
who have been diagnosed with
the coronavirus, placed in quar-
antine and/or asked to self-iso-
late. Some details of these pro-
grams were still being worked
out, but a spokesperson for Uber
Eats said drivers will be compen-
sated for up to two weeks based
on their previous two weeks of
earnings, once they provide doc-umentation on their medical con-
dition.
on Tuesday, Postmates said it
had created a fund that will
provide credits for drivers in
more than 20 states and the
District of Columbia to cover
their doctor appointments and
other medical expenses related to
the coronavirus. Postmates driv-
ers who have made at least one
delivery in the past two weeks in
the 20-plus jurisdictions will be
eligible for the credit from a new
relief fund. Postmates also an-
nounced a pilot program in San
francisco to waive commission
fees for restaurants and other
business that sign on with the
platform. The pilot is an effort to
help brick-and-mortar establish-
ments that are experiencing a
decline in business because of the
virus.
“Nationally, one in four private
sector employees lack access to
any sick leave at all,” Vikrum
Aiyer, Postmates’ vice president
of public policy, said in a state-
ment. “While our ongoing cam-
paigns in California, New Yo rk,
New Jersey and Illinois seek to
modernize 20th-century laws to
fit 21st-century work for indepen-
dent workers, now is the time to
put aside the politics of the gig
economy and work with all stake-
holders to develop creative and
meaningful emergency support
for front line workers who may be
exposed. It’s the right thing to
do.”
[email protected]Emily Heil contributed to this report.Delivery drivers worry about virus at restaurants and at patrons’ front doors
iStock
with c oronavirus fears leading to more deliveries, drivers fear infection. one says: “If I were in a
position of authority, I would personally say that food delivery should be shut down nationwide, and
that’s just my opinion. obviously, I would not want to see that as a driver.”tors to treat a Glenstone visit like
a trip to a park,” according to its
announcement. There will be lim-
ited staff and no food or bath-
rooms. ford’s Theatre has can-
celed its upcoming production of
“Guys and Dolls.” Saturday’s per-
formance will go on, but those
scheduled from march 16-April 4
have been canceled. Theater offi-
cials hope to reschedule them in
April.
[email protected]with our audiences this season.
But we are overjoyed that we will
be able to produce o ur gala — and
pay tribute to Sheila Johnson and
so many other amazing women,
including our devoted Women’s
Committee — in this very 21st-
century, virtual format,” Bilfield
said in a statement.
monumental Theatre Compa-
ny, which performs on the cam-
pus of Episcopal High School in
Alexandria, will close its run of
“Head over Heels” after Sunday’s
performance because the school
is closing. The show was expected
to run through march 23. The
theater hopes to reschedule once
the campus reopens in April.
Announcements also arrived
on Thursday from the Baltimore
Symphony orchestra, which is
calling off all concerts and public
events through march 21 at both
the Joseph meyerhoff Symphony
Hall and the music Center at
Strathmore, a nd the Philadelphia
orchestra, which has canceled all
concerts and events at the Kim-
mel Center for the Performing
Arts and the Academy of music
through march 23.
Glenstone, the Potomac, md.,
contemporary art museum and
park, announced it will close its
indoor spaces friday. “ We a sk visi-accessed t hrough loc.gov. A verage
daily attendance in the library’s
Jefferson Building was 6,000 last
march, according to a spokes-
man.
The Washington Performing
Arts has canceled friday’s perfor-
mance of Te rry riley’s “Sun
rings” by Kronos Quartet with
the Choral Arts Chamber Singers
at the Lisner Auditorium and the
march 21 concert by Veronica
Swift at Sixth and I. Ticket hold-
ers will be contacted directly con-
cerning ticket exchanges and re-
funds. The arts organization’s
gala will move online on Satur-
day, and the “Black Love Experi-
ence 2020,” a co-production
scheduled for march 21 at
THEArC has been rescheduled
for Aug. 29.
Washington Performing Arts
President and CEo Jenny Bilfield
said the organization started the
week thinking it could proceed
with the performances. “ Now, l ess
than two days later, we have
crossed the threshold from cau-
tion to action and have immedi-
ately responded in the interest of
the public welfare. We deeply re-
gret that we will not be able to
share performances by the Kro-
nos Quartet, Choral Arts Cham-
ber Singers and Veronica Swiftmore info in the coming days/
weeks,” wrote Kennedy Center
spokeswoman rachelle roe in an
email.
Ticket holders will be able to
exchange tickets, donate them,
transfer them to a future credit or
receive a full refund.
The Library of Congress has
also canceled all public events in
its buildings through April 1, cit-
ing an effort to reduce the spread
of covid-19.
The announcement comes af-
ter the Capitol Visitor Center said
it will close until April 1, and the
House and Senate sergeants at
arms announced the cancellation
of tours through the end of the
month.
“The Library’s top priority is
the safety and health of our staff
and visitors. Therefore, out of an
abundance of caution, the Li-
brary decided to close to the pub-
lic for the rest of the month. This
will help reduce the risk of trans-
mitting covid-19 coronavirus and
will also be consistent with other
buildings in the Capitol complex,”
April Slayton, director of commu-
nications, said in a statement.
Library officials said they will
attempt to reschedule the pro-
grams. They a lso noted that many
of the library’s resources can being business decision. As you
know, nonprofits live close to the
edge.”
rutter said a conference call
with D.C. health officials Wednes-
day night emphasized the special
issues with theatrical events,
even ones with fewer than 1,000
people.
“The specific circumstances of
sitting side by side in a closed-in
space with people” i s the problem,
she said. The center discussed
continuing performances in its
smaller spaces, or moving pro-
ductions to them, but decided
closing was the better option. “ So-
cial distancing is what’s needed to
stop the explosive spreading of
the virus,” s he said.
Thursday’s performances will
continue, but upcoming produc-
tions — including the opera
“Blue,” will not go on. “It’s heart-
breaking, very emotional,” rutter
said, noting that the arts center
has worked on that production
for 18 months. “But it’s the right
thing for everyone.”
It’s too soon to know whether
“Blue” c an be rescheduled. “It will
take some time to determine
which programs have the poten-
tial for rescheduling. We’ll have
arts from C1
Library of Congress closes its doors; Smithsonian facilities will follow suit
“The Library’s top
priority is the safety and
health of our staff and
visitors.”
April slayton, communications
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