On with the show

Clap loudly: Tuesday, the Barclays Center and Madison Square Garden reopened to limited-size, masked fans (instead of cardboard cutouts) eager to cheer on the powerhouse Nets and the surprisingly-competent Knicks. And next Friday, 355 days after Gov. Cuomo issued a fade-to-black executive order shuttering movie theaters to stop the spread of COVID, silver screens will finally light up again in New York City.

The welcome willingness to allow these gatherings under careful conditions ought to pave the way for the return of live performances from music to comedy to dance to theater, provided COVID cases continue declining and vaccinations accelerate. Make it happen, soon, both for suffering artists and a public hungry for their inspiration.

Of course, for now, the experience won’t be the same as before. In the movie theaters and sports arenas, there are capacity restrictions, spacing and masking and ventilation requirements, and no such thing as general admission. Pre-game testing is required for fans at large venues.

At this point, discretion is the better part of valor. But research shows that large events aren’t doomed to be superspreader events, not if a proper precautions are taken.

The return of movies finally brings New York City’s theaters in line with those in the state’s 57 other counties, which were allowed to reopen at limited capacity in October despite the fact that virus levels were much higher outside the city than among the five boroughs for much of the fall. That was an indefensible double-standard, the likes of which New York City has been subjected to in far too many realms.

If people can safely sit indoors for a few hours and see the latest offering from Disney, or K.D., Kyrie and James Harden, there’s no logical reason to tell other performing houses they must stay shuttered. It may well be that many theaters, jazz clubs and the like can’t economically make a go of it until capacity limits get lifted, but they have every right to try.