What To Know If Your Broadway Performance Gets Canceled Due To COVID19

Broadway

Disney's Aladdin On Broadway at the New Amsterdam New York City

Aladdin on September 29, only one day after reopening, became the first Broadway show to be canceled due to COVID19 since the reopening of Broadway earlier in the month. This is to be expected, and plans were made in anticipation of this. But what does this mean for ticket holders?

First, a brief summary of COVID19 safety procedures for both audience members and cast/ crew members on Broadway.

For audience members, COVID19 vaccinations are required for audience members, with the exception of guests under the age of 12 who must present a negative test result in order to enter the theater. In addition, masks must be worn regardless of vaccination status while inside the theater except while actively eating or drinking in your seat.

Cathrine of Aragon Six Broadway Musical Costume

For cast/ crew shows are adhering to rigorous testing regimens in addition to requiring vaccinations for all workers in Broadway theaters.

But even with this, a number of canceled performances is likely inevitable. With highly contagious variants of COVID19 spreading such as the Delta variant, even the strictest protocols can't prevent all cases in an indoor theater environment, only minimize them.

Now, many shows have hired additional understudies to minimize the risk of canceled performances, but this can only go so far. Until the situation regarding COVID19 radically changes, a certain number of performances of all shows on Broadway are going to be canceled. The West End (London's equivalent to Broadway) has been open for months and closures have affected shows from Heathers to Back to the Future The Musical to a moderate extent.

If a cancelation happens, then you as an audience member will be notified as soon as the show itself knows. Unfortunately, due to the nature of COVID19 testing, this could be last minute, as it was with Aladdin. You will be given a refund and the scheduled performance will not happen.

While the situation with tours of Broadway shows is somewhat different, the same general policies apply.

Sara Barielles Waitress Poster Broadway Musical

While there is a risk your performance may be canceled, you do not need to worry about losing money should this happen. Also, multiple shows have been open on Broadway a month now, and only one performance has been canceled. Hopefully, the impact continues to be this minimal as time goes on.


Comments