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On June 19, Radio City Music Hall will welcome back a full, unmasked audience for the closing of the Tribeca Film Festival. How? Only vaccinated people will be admitted.
This is a huge moment for New York in its reopening, according to Governor Andrew Cuomo, who announced the return of Radio City Music Hall on Monday.
The night will include a red carpet, where smiling faces won't be covered by masks. It's not clear how the venue would check people's vaccination status, but it's likely that the Excelsior Pass will be used. The app, launched by New York State, shares vaccination and negative test results with art and entertainment venues and businesses (including major stadiums and arenas, wedding receptions and catered events above the social gathering limit) by using a QR code that these places scan. The app was tested during the Brooklyn Nets game at Barclays Center on February 27 and during the New York Rangers game on March 2 at Madison Square Garden.
James Dolan, the executive chairman and CEO of MSG Entertainment, which also owns Radio City Music Hall said MSG Entertainment is working closely with the Tribeca Film Festival and "confident we will welcome a full audience to what we know will be a very special and memorable event, which we hope can pave the way for others to follow."
Tribeca Film Festival, which will be a 12-day event, opens with the much-anticipated Jon M. Chu-directed In The Heights musical on June 9 and continues across multiple locations with more than 250 screenings, talks and performances; five immersive pieces in the Mixed Reality Arcade at Spring Studios; and programming in all five boroughs, including at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, Rockaway Beach and Astoria Park in Queens; Van Courtland, Soundview Park and Walter Gladwin Park in the Bronx; and Marine Park in Brooklyn.
This year's festival will run through June 20 and you can already buy tickets and special passes to the various screenings right here. Radio City Music Hall has an exciting slate of concerts and performances coming up, starting in August, including from Gabriel Iglesias (August 19), John Legend & The War and Treaty (August 23-24), Jim Gaffigan (September 22-25) and, of course, the Radio City Christmas Spectacular with the Radio City Rockettes, starting on November 5.
The announcement about Tribeca Film Festival at Radio City Music Hall is the most recent reopening announcement from Cuomo. Earlier this month, he revealed that New York would be able to reopen at 100% on May 19. That means restaurants, museums, gyms, amusement centers, offices, salons, theaters and retail stores would be able to welcome in as many people as they can so long as they can social distance.
"As our numbers continue to decline and more and more New Yorkers get vaccinated, we can begin to turn the page on COVID and look forward to getting back to a new normal," Cuomo said. "Events, venues and businesses all across New York State are reimaging how they operate for a post-pandemic world, and the Tribeca Festival is no exception. This is a huge step forward in our state and our nation's reopening that will let the rest of the world know New York is back and better than ever."