It will have been 524 days since the Oriental Theatre closed when we reopen on Friday, August 20. We don’t ever want to have to close again.

With the continued COVID-19 pandemic and its now more transmissible and dangerous Delta variant spreading through our community, the health and safety of our staff and patrons is of the utmost importance. Due to this we have put the following protocols into effect for the Oriental Theatre:

• We have reduced capacity and limited ticket availability for all shows to promote social distancing at the Oriental Theatre.

• All Milwaukee Film staff are fully vaccinated and required to wear masks at the Oriental Theatre.

• We expect that all Oriental Theatre attendees are fully vaccinated. If you are not fully vaccinated, we expect that you have received a negative Covid-19 test within the last 72 hours prior to attending. Initially, we are on the honor system due to operational constraints, but in the next few weeks we will be implementing checks of vaccination cards or negative tests at the door.

• We request that all attendees wear masks, unless actively eating or drinking, regardless of vaccination status.

• As part of our most recent renovation efforts, Global Plasma Solutions bi-polar ionization filtration systems have been added to our cinema auditoriums. This technology helps kill viruses, mold, and bacteria inside the auditorium while treating the building air.

It will take a unified effort to slow the spread of COVID-19. Science tells us that vaccines give us the best chance to save lives and protect our community. We are implementing these policies to ensure we can make up for lost time and get back together safely so we can be transported by the magic of cinema once more.