A community theatre decided to perform 'Mamma Mia' and now more than 20 of their cast & crew tested positive for COVID-19

(Photo: North Platte Bulletin)

A Nebraska community theatre decided to go on with their summer production of ‘Mamma Mia’ despite the current health crisis and now more than 20 of the show’s cast and crew have tested positive for COVID-19.

According to local news, of the 38 total cast members tested, 63.2% are positive. Nine of the 24 positive cases are teenage members of the cast.

North Platte Community Playhouse finished its run of the ABBA jukebox musical on Aug 2nd. Local news reported the positive tests among the cast just days later. The outbreak has now shut down the playhouse and theater until February 1, 2021.

It’s unknown how exactly the cast and crew contracted the coronavirus but it should be noted that despite being socially distanced, audiences were not required to wear protective masks during performances.

"One of the things that we're saying as directors is to hopefully have people keep that six-foot distance away. If they feel comfortable wearing those masks, we want them to be wearing masks if they feel inclined to," said director Tyler Cronin told local news.

When we originally published this article, I had thought that the theatre wasn’t legally allowed to require audiences to wear masks since the state’s Governor, Pete Ricketts(R) is against mandating them. However, Gov. Ricketts’ policies against masks only apply to government buildings, not private businesses.

So that means the leaders at North Platte Community Playhouse could have easily required audiences to wear masks to protect other audience members and the cast and crew.

Also, according to the theatre’s safety plan, it’s unclear if the theatre provided temperature checks on audiences entering the building nor made improvements to its HVAC system to enhance air cleaners or add filters that many other theatres have done.

It’s also unclear what precaution measures the theatre used in rehearsals. Cronin told local news that if cast members felt sick, then they shouldn’t come to rehearsal. But it’s unclear whether or not cast and crew were tested before rehearsals resumed or during the rehearsal period.

And while the audience may have been socially distanced, the cast wasn’t while performing. A since-deleted promotional video for the show showed them performing the musical with no apparent distancing.

Attempts to reach officials at the theater group have been unsuccessful.

There’s obviously a lot to unpack here and foremost, I hope those involved with the show are healthy and those infected recover.

But this situation is a clear example to me of why theatre productions should either be delayed indefinitely until it is safe for larger gatherings. I’m not saying that no one would’ve gotten sick if the audience were required to wear masks but I know that the risk level would have decreased.

But with no release of a vaccine imminent, I don’t believe any community should start to relax safety measures to prevent outbreaks within them.

I completely understand the wants of people for things to get back to normal and I know that performing theatre is one of those normals. However, if a community isn’t legally allowed to take every recommended safety precaution, especially those stupidly banned over political reasons, then now is not the right time to launch a theatrical production.

While I’m sure the heads at North Platte Community Playhouse had the best intentions and thought they were doing all the right things, they failed to protect their cast and crew, not to mention fellow audience members, from dangers of COVID-19.

Update:

8/14/20 - The original posting listed the number of positive tests at eight. That number has increased dramatically since new results have come in.

This is a developing story. I will add any new info as it becomes available.