"Hamilton" at the Hollywood Pantages Theater is the Musical Worth Catching Covid For ... Right?

In 2020, the world fell ill due to the deadly virus which has been responsible for the death of millions of people around the world. Of course I'm talking about the COVID-19 virus which was first documented in China. Soon, it would invade every country on this planet and bring fear to all people, and for the first time in just over a century, create a pandemic that affected all of humankind.

As a result of this pandemic everyone was ordered to remain holed up in their homes and a new term was created - “social distancing”. The decree from the CDC (Center for Disease Control) was that everyone should wear masks covering your mouth and nose and stay at least 6 feet away from each other when out in public.

Unfortunately, the United States of America was under the leadership of one of the worst and laziest presidents in the history of the country. This president who would turn political the very basic idea of wearing a mask or getting the vaccine to protect the citizens of the very country he leads, and filled with a hatred of the previous administration, and due to jealousy and bigotry, undid a lot of the former president's programs and departments created by or put into effect hy him.

One of those departments was the one President Obama set up specifically to deal with the unlikely chance that we would be under attack from a dangerous and deadly virus.

When the current president ended that program and ignored the handbook with instructions on how to deal with a potential pandemic, the United States became a country where (due to the lack of any type of real and sane leadership) the virus not only made it to our coast but entered boldly and spread faster and harder than in most other countries. Hundreds of thousands of people were quickly infected with the deadly virus and succumbed to it's harsh effects upon the human body.

No one in the medical field knew how to fight the virus, and more and more people died with every passing hour, The sitting president not only ignored the reports of this impending medical emergency, but when it was obviously in our country he began a counter-attack. But his attack was not on the virus, it was on the people who asked questions about his response to the deadly virus. The News Media.

Instead of jumping on this most dangerous problem affecting the country, he lashed out at the reports being printed or spoken about in the newspapers or on the nightly news broadcasts, He saw this as a blight on his presidency, and denied it were as dangerous as it was, and drew a line in the sand against reality, in favor of partisan action against his political enemies and those who opposed his policies.

Soon restaurants, movie theaters, concert venues and anything else that would be responsible for crowds gathering, were shut down, and nobody was allowed to gather together in an enclosed venue, lest you catch the deadly disease or spread the deadly virus to more people.

One of the venues this virus affected was the historic building housing one of the most famous theatrical venues in America, and even the rest of the world. The Hollywood Pantages Theater which has been designated as a historic landmark by the county of Los Angeles and the state of California due to its beautiful art deco original design and stylish furnishings when it was built in 1930.

The show that was being presented at this time was the legendary Broadway smash hit (and record breaking musical) HAMILTON, based on the biography written by Ron Chernow, with story, music and lyrics written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, a United States citizen born in Puerto Rico, who before this play, was virtually unknown.

Miranda picked up a copy of the Hamilton biography at an airport while waiting for a flight to be called, He went into an airport bookstore and flippantly picked up a copy of the biography titled, Alexander Hamilton, by Ron Chernow to read on his flight, He has said that when he was reading the book it began to unfold to him as a musical. While the play is based on the book by Chernow, the actual storyline in the musical takes many artistic liberties in order to tell the story Miranda wanted to tell.

When the pandemic hit Los Angeles and they began to close all the public venues, the Pantages Theater was no different than the others. It responsibly closed its doors and stayed closed following the orders of the leaders of the city and state. There were no cases reported that had come from attending a show at the Pantages.

In August 2021, the heavy restrictions put upon these venues began to be lifted but with other restrictions required in order to stay open. Proof of vaccination or a letter from a doctor showing negative results in that the attendee was tested for COVID with 72 hours of their attendance.

The difference in working at the Pantages in 2021.

Tables of check points were created, and set up in the entrance to the theater with tens of new ushers hired specifically to handle the extra work brought on by such rigorous health checks for proof of vaccination.

Also, the ushers had new jobs that were deemed required actions, such as going through patron’s bags for newly desginated items no longer allowed to be brought intonthe theater. This included unprofessionally wrapped food items, home made food, bottles of liquids (other than water), pepper spray or sharp items like scissors or knives. The last two items mentioned were never allowed to be brought in, but now were actually being enforced, as prior to this situation there were never any official designated places for ushers to check these things out before.

While so much was being done by the owners and management of the Pantages Theater, above and beyond the basic requirements to continue presenting this play, it was not well received by everyone. Most of the patrons who attended the musical after the reopening were very compliant to the rules set forth to enter the building, and met the new check points with politeness and grace.

Also required by management was the County of Los Angeles mandate that everyone in the theater must wear a face mask. No exceptions were to be allowed.

Ushers hired to help with the new rules and requirements were daunted with the task of making sure this rule was enforced. Of course, those who think they are entitled to their own private rules were often required to be reminded over and again that masks must remain on their faces. Over and over, the game was always afoot.

"Sir, please keep your masks on while in the theater".

"Ma'am, please keep your nose and mouth covered when in the theater".

"Excuse me, please put your mask on while in the theater".

"Young lady, mask up and over your nose, please".

Imagine having to tell grown and supposedly responsible adults over and over again to wear a put their masks back on, and to have to constantly repeat it all night!

These directions had to be repeated more times than you could count on your fingers and toes! patrons were told prior to entering the theater that this was the case - masks to be worn at all times. But, the constant reminding needed to be done at the beginning, during and even after the play was on. It was a neverending battle, but not a losing battle.

Ushers were directed to be cordial, professional and helpful, but to be stern and unwilling to let the patrons belittle them or demand special treatment. The theater management vowed to back the usher in every issue or situation that was brought to their attention when an unhappy patron demanded for a supervisor or manager, and they held true to their promise.

Never before did an usher have so much power over the patrons who are responsible for their very presence. And as far as I know, none of the ushers took advantage of this new-found power bestowed upon them by management. Ushers are aware of the thin line that allows for stern action as opposed to disrespectful actions, and more often than not were able to convince the patron to "just adhere to the new requirements or to make the decision to leave the building".

And because this show was that special, almost always, the patrons complied.

From August of 2021 to December 2021, not one employee in the Pantages family became ill with the virus.

Not one.

Sadly, it was out of managment's hands that the show was temporarily paused, as they made the decision to close the show as a result of several of the actors themselves catching the disease.

The ushers and other employees of the theater were consistantly COVID free, and the theater took it upon themselves to have every employee and manager tested daily for the virus, with rules to follow should any of them test positive. None of them did. Sadly, the actors were not under the management of the theater, and as a result of the testing offered by the theater, it turned out that several of the cast members had tested positive for COVID.

On The Day Before Christmas? Say It Isn’t So!

The December 24th Christmas Eve matinee was sold out. All patrons, having gone through the stringent checkpoints, and dealing with the fact that they weren't allowed to eat in the theater, or even eat or drink anything, as the concession stands were closed to ensure compliance.

The management were informed by the 'back of the house' that the show is going to be delayed an hour due to 'technical difficulties'. Ushers were told this very thing, but to not inform the guests just yet, until the management tells them otherwise.

At the most, the show would start no later than 8 minutes past the listed start time. But, one hour, now going on two hours, and still no word from the stage. Ushers were forced to comfort the patrons with the same response, that all they knew was that there are technical difficulties and that they were sure it will start soon.

Two and a half hours later, an announcement came over the speakers that due to the fact that some cast members had tested positive for COVID, the show was canceling that days presentation of HAMILTON.

The gasps, groans and cries from the audience, which included patrons as young as 6 years old,, to as old as 96 years old, were hard to witness for the ushers, from the audience that has continued to make this show such a treat to attend. Some patrons expressing that this is the day they finally got to see the show after waiting for years to do so.

December 24th's cancelation was not to be the last. Soon the 26th was canceled as well. Then, the 27th and 28th were added to the cancellations. Then, sadly, the ushers received an email from the front of the house manager that she had received word from the general manager that the show would be suspended until January 24th, 2022.

In mid-January the suspension was extended to February 6th, with the show tentatively slated to open 0n that day. However, rumors that the show would be extended up until the end of May, 2022, when the next musical would take its place on the stage in June, Moulin Rouge. Sadly, in this same announcement, it was soon known that the end date for this show was slated for March 20, 2022.

What was supposed to be a one year run initially, then closed and suspended due to the pandemic in March of 2020, reopened in August 2021, and suspended again in December 2021, reopen in February 2022 and scheduled to end in March 9f 2022, it will still go down as one of the most successful runs of a theatrical presentation of a musical in the history of The Historic Hollywood Pantages Theater during a world pandemic and historic mass shut down of all things requiring an audience.

This show which features so many wonderful numbers mixing so many different musical genres, yet flowing flawlessly from one scene to the next, we hope you make an effort to attend the remaining shows and to not miss out on something you won't see again for a long time. But remember, when challenged with things beyond your control that you have to work through, don't forget to always 'rise up, rise up' and in this case, never throw away your shot-card! They'll need to see it to let you in ...

(This story is written by a person who, not only writes music and lyric to original songs, or an occasional article for a few online social media creator sites, but also happens to be an usher at the historic Hollywood Pantages Theatre, and has been ushering the legendary show, HAMILTON, since September 21, 2021. It is a show he has seen probably over twenty times, and will most likely watch it another ten to twenty tines before it leaves in March, 2022. Let it be known that he will miss this show immensly.)