An Open Letter to Laura Osnes

(Photo: Drew Angerer/AFP/Getty Images)

The following letter is based on a report from the NY Post that Laura Osnes was let go from a one night performance of “Crazy For You” in East Hampton NY due to refusing to be vaccinated against COVID.

Hi Laura,

OnStage Blog here. Congratulations on your success in Broadway so far. We heard the news that you were supposedly let go from “Crazy For You” due to refusing to be vaccinated against COVID. We would love for you to confirm whether this is true or not, after all, this isn’t covered by HIPAA, but understandably if you don’t, that’s okay. We’d just appreciate it if you listened.

If this report was true, for you or anyone else, please realize not getting vaccinated for a performance is one of the highest acts of selfishness you could do for this industry. Theatre has been, by necessity, one of the slowest industries to reopen during this pandemic, and has been hit particularly hard financially. It might take years to get back to 2019 footing, and theatres are going to have to prove that in an environment with a lot of loud talking and singing, that audiences can enjoy the product safely.

Should a performance ever prove to be a super spreader, especially due to an unvaccinated cast member, how quickly do you think that performance can get the audience’s trust back, if ever?

That’s what we mean when we say not getting vaccinated is a selfish act. You’re putting your unjustified concerns about vaccine safety ahead of not just the safety of hundreds, if not thousands, of audience members but also everyone involved in the show and the theatre community at large.

Remember, theaters are (sadly) primed for super spreading. There’s loud talking and singing in an indoor environment where many people are closely packed in antiquated seating.

All it takes is one super spreader event to shatter trust. One.

If you don’t want to take the vaccine and wanted to confine yourself to your home and give nothing but Zoom performances, by all means, this is America.

But being a paid performer is a privilege, a wonderful, joyous privilege. With privilege comes responsibility, and yes, as someone who is receiving money from paying public customers, you do have a responsibility to treat their health as safely as possible.

You might ask whether you have to put the concern for your own safety below the concern for the safety of others? The vaccines are safe.  Ask nearly any doctor. Look, we get it, a new vaccine can be instinctively tough to trust. But, this vaccine technology isn’t that new, it still went through intense vetting, and any adverse effects would in all likelihood be seen by now.

If you wanted to wait and see what if any adverse effects there were, many will understand. But it’s been 8 months since the first shots have been administered and we have millions and millions of data points to prove its safety,

Don’t go to cable news, talk radio, or anybody who is clearly looking for fame notoriety, or cash. Go to your doctor. Ask questions, tough questions. Get your answers, and while weighing those answers from professional doctors and against the opinions of laymen whose trade is rattling the sabres of fear, think about the role you play in the world.

You, Laura Osnes, play a significantly larger global role than 99% of the world. People pay money to see and hear you talk loudly and sing. The virus spreads through loud talking and singing in an indoor environment.

It is your body and your choice if you choose not to be around anyone in an indoor setting. But once you step on that stage, now you’re making a choice for hundreds, thousands of other people.

You worked hard to get where you are: winning that “Grease” talent competition is no joke.

Don’t get lazy now.

The information is all out there. Do your due diligence with the medical community, get vaccinated. We need theatre in our lives to make us whole, and we won’t get that if we have unvaccinated cast members potentially spreading a killer virus.

Translate your privilege into a force for good, not for a source of hospitalizations and death. There are many who want you up there on stage showing off your incredible talent, they just want you to do it while not risking everyone’s health.

Sincerely,

OnStage Blog