Jack Caravanos, Clinical Professor at NYU School of Global Public Health, joins Yahoo Finance to discuss Broadway reopening, covid protocols, and outlook on Broadway changes post-pandemic.

Video Transcript

- We are here on Broadway. The show, of course, cannot go on without some stringent COVID protocols. Vaccine requirements for the audience, for performers, for behind the stage as well. Jack Caravanos is a clinical professor at NYU School of Global Public Health. And you've actually advised Broadway on those COVID protocols as they reopen up. Thanks so much for being with us, professor.

JACK CARAVANOS: Happy to be here.

- Talk to us a little bit about how returning to the theater is going to look and feel different now versus pre-pandemic?

JACK CARAVANOS: Yes. And there will be some things that you'll immediately recognize. You'll see, of course, people wearing masks. They will probably unlikely be handing out anything physically. So everything you do you'll take out of a box. Unlikely to see any concessions open because right now we don't want people taking off their masks and handling anything. And of course, you can't eat and drink and wear a mask.

So some things will be very obvious. Other things are going to be a little not so obvious and are behind the scenes. The biggest change is going to be more air coming into the buildings and better air. So quantity and quality of the air coming in. And there are filters that have been installed in almost all the theaters that can capture viral particles. So we'll see some ventilation changes there.

- That's great to hear because I know so many of our historic theaters here. It's going to be hard to retrofit them because they are so old. How have they been able to do that?

JACK CARAVANOS: Well, yes. In my work with the Broadway League and going to all these theaters, each one is unique. They're historic. You can't change them very often. On the positive side, theaters tend to be large spaces.

So there's a lot of dilution. It's not like a small office where everybody's in one place like a restaurant. Yeah. So that's really good. There are different protocols for the orchestra versus the dressing areas versus the front of the house. So each one had to tailor the protocols into its own structure.

- One thing people are going to see right away is there's no intermission anymore. You talked about no concessions and there's no intermission for these shows?

JACK CARAVANOS: Yes, it's going to be tough. The good and bad there, of course, is people won't be mingling and won't be tempted to take off their mask. People will not be using the restrooms which is always a challenge in Broadway theaters, lining up for the restroom. But it will be a learning experience. I think they're going to have to experience this for a couple of months and see where to tweak it.

- So a huge tip for theatergoers, make sure you use the lavatory before you go in the theater because there's no intermission. Another thing that's different, and I always love this and especially when I would take my kids when they were younger to Broadway is after the show, hanging up by the stage door and getting your playbill autographed by the actors. That's not happening now.

JACK CARAVANOS: No, that's not going to happen. And really after theater parties and backstage, I've been invited to the opening tonight of Lion King. So I was hoping maybe I could go backstage, but I was told, don't even think about it. So I think that will come with time as the vaccination rates in New York are getting better and better, they are well over 80%. So I think that'll slowly get there, hopefully by the spring.

- Hopefully. And you're talking we're ticking through a lot of the ways Broadway. The Broadway experience has changed because of the pandemic. But when you look out to when we are finally on the other side of all of this, do you think there are some lasting changes that will be implemented here on Broadway post-pandemic?

JACK CARAVANOS: I think so. I think all of a sudden, infectious disease has got a whole new following, whether it's the flu or whether it's other diseases. So I think you'll see more and more of the unions that sort of demanding vaccinations and health care and monitoring. And also periodic testing. I think COVID is going to be with us forever. It's going to be a routine flu-like disease. And I think they'll be testing routine, maybe random testing for the next several years.

- Now, you've been working with the Broadway League, as you said, on these COVID protocols. Talk to me a little bit about the cost. I don't know how much you can speak to this. But it definitely adds to the overall producer's cost to have to invest in these COVID protocols so they can reopen.

JACK CARAVANOS: Yes, absolutely. The cost to run the show and the profit margins are very thin. So installing even MERV-13 filters, improved fans, and upgrading is very cost prohibitive also. So it's going to be a challenge. But luckily, there's been some financial support by the state and the federal government to help us through this period of transition.

- Are there contingency plans for if-- we don't even want to say it, but if there were to be a partial shutdown, or worse case, another full shutdown of Broadway?

JACK CARAVANOS: Yes, everybody, all the epidemiologists and my colleagues are concerned about we're entering flu season. Are we going to see a third wave of COVID Come and what's a contingency? But I don't think we'll quite react the same way.

When we see it now when the numbers started going up over the summer, many of the protocols weren't-- we didn't go back to the original protocols. They weren't relaxed. So I think there'll be a bit more cautious approach to going back to those.

- What are you most excited about as a theater lover yourself, now that these theaters are going to open their doors again for the first time in 18 months?

JACK CARAVANOS: Yeah, well, I'm a New Yorker, born and raised. I love Times Square, and even being here around viewing and seeing all this. It's all wonderful to see the excitement of the city come back. I never appreciated how important tourists were to the city and the vibrancy of Times Square.

So just walking around and seeing everybody coming back and feeling a little bit more at ease. And I think that's going to be exciting. I'm also waiting for Off-Broadway to open up and some of the smaller venues. So it'll be a lot of fun.

- You bring up a great point because oftentimes, the resources Off-Broadway are not like the resources On-Broadway. What has the reopening of theaters away from these streets here on Broadway been Like

JACK CARAVANOS: Yes, that is a-- it's challenging effort. To what extent do you follow those protocols? That's why the state hasn't really mandated changes in ventilation or strict protocols. They're letting each theater sort of design what's best for them and their audience. So I think it's a wait and see on that. But I'm a little worried about those, because those small theaters downtown are operating on a very thin margin. So they can't be asked to do too much.

- Because you've worked so closely with the Broadway theaters and reopening safely, what has been, I guess the biggest obstacle for them or the biggest challenge for them to open their doors again?

JACK CARAVANOS: Well, Broadway's complicated and the theaters are complicated. So when I first got involved, we have the front of the house, we have theater employees, then we have the house, the people, us, and then you have the actors' equity and the unions, and then you have the back seat. So it's a very complicated employment situation all one's with different areas.

So people said, is there one solution that could do all of these areas? And of course, the answer is no. So I was sort of taken aback at how we had to customize every single area and to really think OK, where do dressing rooms need? What does the concession stand need? And sort of tailoring all that. But it is a complicated business. There's a lot of people there.

- I started our special more than an hour ago by saying it was a Herculean effort. So I think it speaks to just how much everybody in this community wanted to come back to work, the fact that you were able to get so many people on the same page.

JACK CARAVANOS: Yes, I think there's a lot of excitement and momentum now. People are ready for it and no longer fearful of the virus. The hospitalization rates and the treatments are so much better. So people are starting to be a little bit more open to moving about. So that's great.

- Yeah. Well, listen, enjoy the Lion King tonight.

JACK CARAVANOS: I'm so excited. Yeah, it's going to be exciting.

- Another guest we had is going to the show as well. So I'm officially jealous. Jack Caravanos, professor there at the NYU School of Global Public Health. Thanks so much.

JACK CARAVANOS: Thank you very much for having me.

- And for the work you did here on Broadway.