As “Tootsie” opens big run, are Fox Theatre’s Covid protocols strict enough?

Rescheduled from December, the musical Tootsie premieres tonight at Atlanta’s 4,665-seat Fox Theatre for an eight-performance run. Based on the beloved Oscar-winning film and the winner of two Tony Awards, the production is expected to draw sizable crowds. Yet, at the same time, safety concerns about attending large venues hang over the heads of many theatergoers, especially with the Omicron variant still spreading, even if it appears finally to have peaked. 

The high rate of Covid-19 infection has forced many Atlanta theater companies as well as some Broadway houses to postpone or cancel productions. Venues providing local arts programming have had to determine their own varying protocols, especially whether to require audience members to show proof of vaccination. 

Because of its large seat count, year-round programming and high-profile productions, the Fox Theatre seems more subject to scrutiny than others. One of the country’s largest regional performance venues, the Fox has remained busy since it resumed business with a three-week run of Hamilton in August. Before the celebrated musical opened, Fox reps touted their responses to the pandemic, including changes to the air flow and mobile ticketing, and also began enforcing a mask mandate. With many sold-out performances, Hamilton’s second national tour stop was a huge success (although reps decline to divulge attendance figures). 

However, unlike some large venues across the country, the Fox does not require audience members to show proof of vaccination or a booster to see a show. Masks are still required except when eating and drinking. However, the showplace has not updated its online Covid policies since November 30 with Omicron-related information. 

Fox management declined to speak to ArtsATL on this matter but did issue a statement: “The Fox Theatre continues to take every reasonable precaution to ensure a clean, safe and welcoming environment for our guests, including implementing health and wellness policies reflecting the latest guidance from local and federal public health authorities. While specific protocols may vary from event to event based on presenter preferences, a full list of the extensive Covid health enhancements and guidelines can be found on our website.”

Many venues do require vaccinations for shows presented by Broadway Across America, of which Broadway in Atlanta is a part, including playhouses in Cincinnati, Albuquerque, Orange County, Boston and Miami. Among those that do not are venues in Dallas, Austin, Baltimore, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando. 

Apparently choosing not to determine audience protocol requirements, Broadway in Atlanta takes its cue from the Fox’s policy of not requiring proof of vaccination. On the other hand, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is requiring that audience members show proof of vaccination or a recent negative test during its February 10-13 run at the Fox.  

Broadway Across America declined an ArtsATL interview request to discuss the matter. 

While Actor’s Equity, the labor union for those who work in live theatrical performance, sets policy about performers and their interactions with each other and production staff, venues and the producers of each touring production determine Covid and vaccination protocols for audiences, according to Actor’s Equity communications director David Letty.

The Fox hosts concerts and other types of shows in addition to theatrical touring musicals throughout the year, of course, and has worked to postpone and reschedule many of them. The Athens-based band Widespread Panic, for instance, postponed four performances at the venue in December, explaining to patrons on its website, “The health and safety of our fans is always the top priority.” The shows have been rescheduled for August 10-13.

At the 2,750-seat Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre, Tom Rowland, director of Marketing, Sponsorships & Programming, says that the company leaves Covid protocols up to individual presenting organizations. The Atlanta Ballet, which staged The Nutcracker at the venue in December, required vaccinations, as does The Atlanta Opera, which is presenting The Pirates of Penzance there through January 30. In both instances, those companies conducted or are conducting their own vaccination checking. 

“We will abide by whatever protocols (companies) want to put in place, but it’s up to them to provide the staff to enforce it,” Rowland says. 

While Cobb County does not currently have a mask mandate, Rowland says the venue communicates to ticketholders that it strongly encourages that they wear one, though Cobb Energy has no enforcement mechanism in place. 

“At this point in the pandemic, you’re going to get feedback one way or the other no matter what you do,” Rowland says. “If you have vaccine (requirements) in place you’ll hear from an audience who won’t come if you have it, and then alternatively you’ll hear from people who say they won’t come if you don’t. It cuts both ways.”

Checking for vaccination cards or test results — or having staff enforce mask-wearing — demands time and added manpower, an aspect of operating amid Covid that some event-goers may not realize.

Kathleen Covington, the Alliance Theatre’s director of Marketing & Communications, feels the city’s largest resident company was fortunate that Omicron did not affect it until the final week of its Christmas Carol run in late December. But she says that the staff has had to work hard to check vaccination cards and ensure that mask mandates held up inside the theater.

Venues that are part of the University System of Georgia can not impose protocols since the state does not permit them. For instance, Georgia State University’s Rialto Center for the Arts only can encourage masks and vaccination by audience members, according to Darlene Hamilton, assistant director of marketing and communications. 

Tammy Moore, marketing manager at Clayton State’s Spivey Hall, says that many outside arts presenters have tried to get exceptions for mandates but have been told by the University System of Georgia that that was not possible at the time. Nonetheless, Spivey Hall has encouraged masks and reduced its seating capacity. 

It remains to be seen whether Omicron or other variants that may follow it will stop patrons from attending large-scale productions such as Tootsie or even smaller ones. Whether it was the pull of Hamilton itself, getting to see a big live event again after months of relative isolation or the back- and-forth nature of the musical’s rescheduled runs, Covid did not deter a huge number of patrons from attending.

Barbara Adcock took in the musical three times during its most recent Fox run. She recalls an announcement being made before the show reminding audience members to keep their masks on, which she and everyone around her did. However, with Omicron still circulating, she does not think she will attend a large-scale production again until the numbers have dropped.

Pre-Covid, downtown Atlanta residents Matthew Lee and his husband had been trying to attend more theater events. They, too, saw Hamilton and felt secure and later attended productions in New York, where protocols were stricter. “Having seen what they are doing on Broadway, it makes me a little more hesitant about shows in Atlanta,” Lee admits. 

Steve Berman, who attends local theater events regularly, also attended Broadway recently and draws a hard line about frequenting a venue that doesn’t require vaccinations. “I would never go to see a play if they don’t check vax cards,” he says. “In New York a couple of months ago, they checked at every theater and at restaurants.”

Avid theatergoer John Waymire, who’s double vaccinated and has had a booster shot, will be one of those seeing Tootsie this week. While he won’t be eating or drinking anything while at the Fox, he feels comfortable about attending.

Vaxed or not, many Fox patrons have already decided that they want to see Tootsie. As of Monday afternoon, nearly 70 percent of tickets had been sold for the run through Sunday. 

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Jim Farmer covers theater and film for ArtsATL. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he has written about the arts for 30-plus years. Jim is the festival director of Out on Film, Atlanta’s LGBTQ film festival. He lives in Avondale Estates with his husband, Craig, and dog Douglas.