‘HAMILTON’, ‘CAMELOT’, SHAKESPEARE IN THE PARK AMONG BROADWAY & OFF BROADWAY PRODUCTIONS CANCELING DUE TO NYC AIR QUALITY ISSUES
Broadway’s Hamilton and Camelot are the latest New York City productions canceling performances tonight due to issues caused by the region’s historically bad air quality.
“The hazardous air quality in New York City has made it impossible for a number of our artists to perform this evening,” said a spokesman for Hamilton. “Shows will resume as scheduled tomorrow. We apologize for the inconvenience and encourage you to visit your point of purchase for refund or exchange.”
Camelot, at Lincoln Center, also canceled tonight’s performance. The Public Theater has canceled tonight’s dress rehearsal of its Shakespeare in the Park outdoor production of Hamlet as well as the Thursday and Friday night preview performances.
The stage productions are just the latest casualties of today’s air quality issues caused by wildfires in Canada. This afternoon, Tony Award-nominated Jodie Comer halted her matinee performance of Broadway’s Prima Facie, saying from the stage of the John Golden Theatre that the bad air was causing breathing difficulties. Understudy Dani Arlington went on in her place.
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The New York Times is reporting that Broadway theater owners and producers held an emergency meeting this afternoon to discuss the air quality issue, but decided to let performances continue tonight since many ticket-buyers and performers were already in place.
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Actors’ Equity Association this afternoon urged its members – stage performers and stage managers – to contact the union with issues concerning the air-quality emergency. Equity president Kate Shindle subsequently tweeted that Equity staffers are treating the situation as “all hands on deck,” and provided an after-hours emergency phone number for members to call.
“We’ll get through this,” she wrote. “Remember: actors and [stage managers] in California deal with poor air quality all the time, so it’s not a brand new challenge. But don’t assume we know exactly what it’s like where you are. Please make sure someone actually calls. Stay safe.”
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