Live theater in London, NYC grapple with new virus outbreaks
NEW YORK »Many stages on both Broadway and the West End have been forced to go dark once more as the live theater community grapples with backstage outbreaks of the coronavirus and its variants, temporarily closing everything from London’s revival of “Cabaret” starring Eddie Redmayne to mighty “Hamilton” in New York.
“At the end of the day, we’ll follow the science, and the science will say, ‘You need to shut down this performance,’” Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin told The Associated Press on Thursday. “We anticipated that because they were telling us all along that if more people didn’t get their shots, that new variants would arrive and new variants would have cases. And guess what? It’s called omicron.”
On Broadway, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child” canceled its Wednesday matinee, “Tina” canceled two shows on Wednesday and “Hamilton” called off shows through Friday night. “Ain’t Too Proud” scrapped its Tuesday performance and “Freestyle Love Supreme” canceled two performances. “Mrs. Doubtfire,” which just opened and has been dark since Sunday, intended to resume performances Thursday.
“We still just had five of 32 shows with a canceled performance yesterday, which says the other 27 were working and the protocols work,” said St. Martin, who notes that many shows have daily staff testing.
“If somebody tests positive, even if it’s a false positive, they’re not allowed to go on and potentially infect everyone else. That should be a reason for safety and comfort, for not only the community, but our theatergoers.”
Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity Association, which represents actors and stage managers, said the cancellation of shows means that Broadway producers are taking cases seriously and acting appropriately.
“The fact that performances are being paused shows that the producers and the unions are staying vigilant,” McColl said in a statement. “That’s what the safety protocols are there to be in place for, and this shows that they’re working.