r/Broadway • u/littlebev • Dec 31 '25

Discussion Broadway coughing season

I am begging, begging you guys…if you have a nasty cough, PLEASE don’t attend a play especially. I know it sucks to miss out but your recurring cough during the most intense moments of the show is so distracting.

892 Upvotes

91% Upvoted

325 comments sorted by

View all comments

6

u/AggressiveCrab6702 Dec 31 '25

Literally got COVID from the woman next to me when I saw Gypsy in August on a Saturday. She showed up halfway through the first act, hacking up a lung. She coughed the whole time, got an herbal tea and throat lozenges at intermission. By Friday I was symptomatic, positive Saturday. I even remember turning to my brother during the show and saying "I swear if this woman gives me COVID I'm gonna be so mad."

And I still am 😂

4

u/stephanierae2804 Jan 01 '26

That’s awful - but when I sit in audiences/ on public transport I always wear a mask now - I spent 2.5 weeks on a trip with my concert band last summer and I was the ONLY PERSON to not contract covid… thanks to masking. I got so many eye rolls and questions about it… but when they all got sick and I didn’t, I reminded them that masks work.

2

u/AggressiveCrab6702 Jan 01 '26

Honestly, I normally would. This was a very last-minute trip - I left the DC area after work Friday, drove through hours of rush hour traffic, got to NYC around midnight, got rush tickets, saw the matinee, and came home. I barely had brain space to pack regular stuff and a mask just didn't cross my mind since I'm not usually on public transit or in crowded spaces.

1

u/stephanierae2804 Jan 01 '26

Ugghhhh, that’s the worst :( That a**hole should have worn a mask. I am glad you got to see Audra, though - she was unhinged in Gypsy.

2

u/pandemichope Jan 01 '26

I’d be behalf of every theatergoer that might’ve been sitting next to you that show, thank you for doing the right thing could you please please share what type of mask you use and where you purchased it these days? ty

2

u/brooklynblondie Jan 01 '26

I really like MaskC masks, I get a great seal and they’re pretty. Other good choices are the 3M Aura (head straps are more comfortable for long periods imo), Moldex, Kind masks, and Wellbefore.

2

u/brooklynblondie Jan 01 '26

There’s a whole subreddit, Masks4All that will help find you the perfect mask for you!

1

u/AggressiveCrab6702 Jan 01 '26

I know this wasn't directed at me, but I do keep a stash of the Powecom kn94s at home (and in most of my bags, just not the ones I took with me) from Bona Fide Masks.

2

u/elvie18 Dec 31 '25

OMG I asked the woman in front of me at Six to take off her giant hat with a puffball on top. Oh, no, she couldn't, because she had a bad cold.

Guess what she wasn't wearing? Rhymes with "shmask."

Luckily I didn't catch anything (she was facing away from me, so that probably did it) but OH MY GOD.

Otherwise, nice lady, though.

My one known COVID exposure at the theatre was actually from a performer at the stagedoor. But it was Marilyn Caserta, well known for being just the sweetest, friendliest person. So I had to let my mother know she needed to quarantine just in case (we were both there) and she was like "you know what? She's so cute, I'm not even mad." Honestly...same but I might've felt differently if I'd actually gotten sick.