Broadway's COVID Safety Team is celebrating their service of 2,000 Broadway performances, providing COVID compliance safety for 1.8 million audience members seeing 30 shows. The team will reach the milestone March 8.
See a special video thank you featuring cast members from Come From Away, Company, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, and more below.
Powered by SwifTest, the Broadway COVID Safety Team has provided backstage support for cast and crew, along with work in front of the curtain to ensure every audience member is meeting safety protocols throughout performances.
“We could not have reopened Broadway as efficiently and effectively without the efforts of the Broadway COVID Safety Team,” said Shubert Organization General Manager of Operations Michael Coco. “We appreciate their attention to safety for our employees and patrons, all while providing the finest customer service, ensuring patrons a Broadway experience equivalent to the talent on stage.”
The team, numbering 364, comprises a diverse group of actors, singers, dancers, stage managers, playwrights, dramaturgs, directors, administrators, and circus performers, which allowed Broadway's COVID safety initiatives to not only keep artists and audiences safe, but provide much needed employment to the entertainment community as well.
“We’re so proud of this team,” shares SwifTest CEO Chris Higbee. “They’re incredibly qualified and one of the hardest working crews on Broadway. They come to work every day, rain or shine, with smiles on their faces and incredible attitudes, professionalism, and passion for safely bringing back the magic of Broadway.”
The team currently provides audience and/or backstage COVID compliance safety services to Come From Away, Company, Chicago, The Phantom of the Opera, Dear Evan Hansen, The Music Man, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Plaza Suite, Jersey Boys, The Play That Goes Wrong, and The Gazillion Bubble Show. They are also set to work with upcoming productions of The Little Prince, for colored girls..., A Strange Loop, Hangmen, To Kill a Mockingbird, Girl From the North Country, ¡Americano!, and Little Girl Blue.
SwifTest was founded in 2020 by Higbee and Jeff Whiting (StageWrite, Open Jar Studios). The group has worked with theatres nationwide navigating a return to live performances with COVID safety measures in place. Broadway's COVID safety team is led by general manager Hugh Hysell, who works closely with medical and testing experts.
For more information, visit SwifTesting.com.
