The Covid-19 pandemic has proved to be a large obstacle surrounding live performances and theatre. In early 2020, we saw a large shutdown across America, closing in-house dining, live events, and large gatherings. Things eased up for a while there for those who felt safe to go back out into the world. Two years later, while the Omicron variant sweeps the United States, we are starting to move towards more lockdowns.
Before Christmas 2021, Broadway chose to shut down a lot of major shows for the safety of actors, crew, and audiences. Some fan favorites, for now, seem to just be on hiatus, but other shows like Jagged Little Pill, inspired by Alanis Morissette’s album, are shutting down for good. This is a sad sight to see for immunocompromised Broadway lovers who have yet to see some great shows over the course of our now 3-year pandemic.
Here are some shows that are shutting down, either permanently or temporarily:
Come From Away, a story following the 9/11 attacks and what happened as 38 planes were ordered to land at Gander International Airport, canceled performances starting December 30th, 2021 and just reopened a few days ago on January 7th, 2022.
Mrs. Doubtfire, based on the popular film featuring Robin Williams, is a comedic musical following a fake-nanny trying to spend some time with his kids while hilarity ensues. This show's opening night was December 5th, 2021 and now it is going on a 9-week hiatus, closing January 10th, 2022 and hopes to resume showings on March 14th, 2022.
Waitress, Sara Bareilles’ musical following the life of a waitress attempting to leave her abusive relationship, shut down for good two weeks before their closing show. A tweet from their official Twitter account stated that the early closing is due “to positive cases of COVID detected in the company and crew at the Barrymore Theatre.”
Hamilton: An American Musical, a very popular show by Lin-Manuel Miranda following the story of Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, canceled shows from December 20th, 2021 to December 27th, 2021 due to a COVID outbreak amongst cast members. They are now open again for shows at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.
As shows close and reopen while attempting to create the safest atmosphere for participants and audiences, Broadway is trying to find the best course of action for dealing with this hard-to-handle pandemic. It is important to check Covid-19 protocol on various show sites before going. Be safe and if possible, go see some of these fan-favorite shows while you can.