Broadway theatre closure extended to 7 June 2020

Broadway's theatres will remain closed until 7 June 2020.  The statement made today by the Broadway League extends the closure of Broadway shows which came into effect on 12 March 2020.

Broadway theatre are to close through 7 June. Photo: Shubert Organisation. The Broadway theatres closures which came into effect on 12 March 2000 is now officially extended until 7 June 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was made by the Broadway League who had been in discussion with theatrical unions this week.

The decision effectively ends the 2019-2020 season (cut off deadlines for major awards consideration), unless a decision is made to push the deadline back into the Summer which would most likely prove logistically impossible). Cutting the season short will see 15 planned productions ruled out of contention on Broadway alone not counting various Off Broadway productions that were planned.

“Our top priority continues to be the health and well-being of Broadway theatregoers and the thousands of people who work in the theatre industry every day, including actors, musicians, stagehands, ushers, and many other dedicated professionals.” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of the Broadway League. “Broadway will always be at the very heart of the Big Apple, and we join with artists, theatre professionals, and fans in looking forward to the time when we can once again experience live theatre together.”

The announcement came today after New York's Drama Desk Awards announced this year's winners online skipping its annual ceremony with awards eligibility limited to shows opening prior to 12 March.

The Broadway Cast of Six. Photo: Joan Marcus

Thirty-one productions were suspended on 12 March, the scheduled opening night for British musical Six was pulled just hours before it began, others had just begun previews.

Anybody holding tickets to any Broadway shows up to and including 7 June 2020 should receive an email from their ticket vendor regarding refunds and exchanges.

Within an hour of the League’s announcement, some shows were confirming that tickets remained on sale for performances after June 7, including Mean Girls, Moulin Rouge! The Musical, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the upcoming return David Bryne’s American Utopia, Chicago, Six and Mrs. Doubtfire.

Some shows have already rescheduled until next season or in the case of British import Hangmen and the revival of American classic Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with its largely British cast been cancelled outright.

Other shows that had been scheduled to open this spring are Tracy Letts’ The Minutes; the Jerry Zaks-directed musical adaptation of  Mrs. Doubtfire; director Sam Mendes’ The Lehman Trilogy; the Princess Di musical Diana; Company, the gender-switched revival of the classic Sondheim musical starring Katrina Lenk and Patti LuPone; Plaza Suite starring Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker; David Mamet’s American Buffalo starring Laurence Fishburne, Sam Rockwell and Darren Criss; the Off-Broadway transfer of New York Theatre Workshop’s musical Sing Street; and the revival of Richard Greenberg’s Take Me Out starring Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jesse Williams and Patrick J. Adams.

The extension of the Broadway Theatre closures also means that Beetlejuice the musical which had become a fan favourite will be unable to return to the Winter Garden Theatre to finish its run which was to make way for the revival of Meredith Wilson's The Music Man starring Hugh Jackman. A possible venue transfer is still on the cards for Beetlejuice if further show cancellations occur but Broadway theatres are like gold so a transfer although popular with fans is uncertain.

Meanwhile, tickets for most Broadway productions remain on sale past 7 June 2020.