The Great White Way was darker on Christmas Eve as two Broadway productions permanently closed due to surging COVID-19 cases.
The shows “Waitress” and “Thoughts of a Colored Man” said on Friday that their productions would not reopen after performing their final shows earlier this week, according to Playbill.
Sara Bareilles’ “Waitress” returned to Broadway in September and was expected to run through next month, but its limited engagement at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre was also thwarted by cases of the virus among its cast and company, the outlet said.
The Tony-nominated hit was known for being the first Broadway musical composed, written, directed, and choreographed by women. It played 1,544 performances since 2016.
“Thoughts” — a Keenan Scott II play which explored a day in the life of seven black Brooklyn men — had 79 performances at the Golden Theatre, but was besieged by COVID cases among its cast members. Its final show was Wednesday.
“While this is not the outcome we had hoped for, being part of this historic season on Broadway has been the greatest privilege of our lives,” producers Brian Moreland, Ron Simons, Diana DiMenna, Kandi Burruss, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Samira Wiley said in a statement, according to the Playbill.
“The theatre industry’s great return is about so much more than the success or failure of any single production. As a community, we remain undeterred, unflinching, and unstoppable. We have never been prouder to be theatre makers than at this very moment.”
“David Byrne’s American Utopia,” “Come From Away,” “MJ The Musical,” “The Lion King,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” “Tina: The Tina Turner Musical,” “Dear Evan Hanson,” “Hamilton” and “Aladdin” were among the other productions that announced additional canceled shows on Friday.
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