Due to the rise of the new COVID-19 variant, Broadway shows have canceled performances through Christmas, increasing the total number of prominent musicals that have gone dark during the normally busy holiday week.
The shows like Hamilton, Aladdin, Ain’t Too Proud, and Hadestown highlighted groundbreaking COVID-19 cases, while Dear Evan Hansen made the decision out of a “overabundance of caution” in the wake of the New York City surge.
On Monday, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hit rap musical about founding father Alexander Hamilton announced it was canceling performances from Dec. 20 to Dec. 26.
It was announced last week that the show’s closing would extend until next year, following positive cases on December 17th.
“In the ongoing effort to ensure the well-being of our cast, crew and audience, this week’s performances of Hamilton on Broadway have been canceled due to breakthrough COVID-19 cases,” read the statement on Twitter. “On behalf of everyone at Hamilton, we apologize for the disappointment and for any inconvenience this may cause.” Information on upcoming performances will be shared “as soon as possible,” the message added.
Meanwhile, all performances of Disney’s long-running Aladdin have been suspended from December 21 to 24, with plans to resume on December 26. “Through our continuing rigorous testing protocols, additional breakthrough COVID-19 cases have been detected within the company of Aladdin at The New Amsterdam Theatre,” read the statement posted to Twitter on Monday, adding that the “wellness and safety of our guests, cast, and crew are our top priority.”
On Monday night, the award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen announced that it will cancel its performances from December 20 to December 26, and that it would reopen on December 27. In part, the Twitter message stated, “Please continue to stay safe and take care of yourselves and each other.”
The musical Ain’t Too Proud, which is about The Temptations, announced it will close through Dec. 26 due to breakthrough cases in the company. The first breakthrough case occurred on Dec. 15, so the shutdown will now extend through Dec. 26.
Hadestown, the musical based on the Greek myth of Orpheus, announced that it would be canceling performances this week through December 27 due to “difficult decisions.”
“We are actively working to keep our cast, crew and audiences as safe as possible.”
MJ, a Broadway musical on the late Michael Jackson’s 1992 Dangerous world tour, was the first to cancel Christmas week performances because of several positive COVID-19 test results. The show’s organizers announced on Friday that preview performances from December 17 to December 26 would be canceled. The show is set to debut on February 1, 2022.
All tickets will be refunded.
As Broadway’s busiest week of the year approaches, New York City is experiencing an increase in COVID-19 cases due to the highly contagious omicron variant that became dominant on Monday.
On Sunday, New York reported a record number of daily positive cases for the third consecutive day, with federal and state officials warning of an incoming wave across the state and nation.
Dr. Anthony Fauci said on CNN’s State of the Union that “It is going to be a tough few weeks, months, as we get deeper into the winter.”
Nine of the 32 currently running shows had canceled some performances due to breakthrough cases, including Moulin Rouge!, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Tina, Freestyle Love Supreme, Jagged Little Pill, Mrs. Doubtfire, and Ain’t Too Proud.
According to reports, Multiple industry insiders told The Hollywood Reporter before of omicron’s entrance that Broadway could probably only handle one large relaunch financially, and that they plan to avoid major COVID-related shutdowns as much as possible.
However, each show must decide whether or not to keep the curtain raised, as well as the specifics of COVID-19 safety standards. After a “drastic turn of events” and many breakthrough instances amid omicron, the Tony-winning musical Jagged Little Pill, based on Alanis Morissette’s rock tunes, announced on Monday night that it would be closing for good.
“In light of the extreme uncertainty ahead of us this winter, and forced to choose between continuing performances and protecting our company, we’ve made the difficult decision to close our doors,” said the producers.
Despite a succession of holiday cancellations and closures, Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin told THR on Monday that the theater area had proactive preparations in place to avert another complete shutdown.
“We have absolutely no plans to shut down. We are paying serious attention to the protocols. The other 20 to 30 shows continue to perform because we’re following the protocols that we set up, and it shows they’re working,” said Martin, noting that the League launched BWAYTODAY.COM to guide ticket buyers in response to the quickly evolving omicron.
“Because there were so many false rumors that Broadway was shutting down, we got our folks together on Friday and made that all happen in one day. We’re very aggressive in our outreach of saying: we’re not closing.”
