Broadway's 'Aladdin' Cancels Week Of Performances After Additional Breakthrough COVID Cases Within Company
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) -- The Broadway musical "Aladdin" is shutting down again.
"Aladdin" only got two shows in since the musical reopened Tuesday.
CBS2 has been told at least four members of the cast and crew tested positive for COVID.
The next performance will be Oct. 12, but many ticketholders only found out about the cancelation minutes before the show was supposed to go on.
Andres Marrero was dressed to the nines for his 40th birthday Friday.
"I got him a little gift that says, 'You're my diamond in the rough,' so I was gonna bring him to 'Aladdin tonight, but we can't go," Manhattan resident Suzette Singh said.
They joined many other "Aladdin" ticketholders to came to the New Amsterdam Theatre to see the 8 p.m. show Friday just to get turned away at the door.
"We came all the way from Boston to watch this," Rohil Mukherjee told CBS2's Ali Bauman.
"After walking 20 minutes, we came here and they told us," said Jordan Jones, from Washington, D.C.
Grace Ngamau came from Delaware with her friends to see the musical.
"Disappointing, but we hope they're well," she said. "We're both nurses, so we do understand."
It's been a bumpy carpet ride for Broadway's "Aladdin."
After a nearly two-year shutdown during the pandemic, the hit musical reopened Tuesday with vaccine mandates and regular COVID testing for the cast and crew, but the show still had to cancel Wednesday's performance due to breakthrough cases.
It reopened again Thursday with another short run. They had to shut down again Friday afternoon, hours before the curtain was supposed to rise, saying in part, "Although negative PCR testing allowed us to move safely forward with last night's performance [...] additional breakthrough COVID-19 cases were detected within the company today."
The Actors' Equity Association released the following statement:
"We believe Disney is making the right decision in prioritizing safety by pausing performances of Aladdin. We are still in a pandemic, and COVID-19 remains a risk. Our safety protocols, including rigorous testing and vaccination, mitigate that risk. Equity remains in close contact with the cast and the production team and will continue to monitor the situation and consult with experts to ensure that the necessary safety provisions are in place to avoid additional transmission. We wish those affected a speedy recovery and look forward to the safe reopening of the show later this month.
"Equity's priority is and always has been for our members to work in the safest environments possible, especially during the pandemic. We are doing everything to protect the health and utmost safety of our actors and stage managers, other theater workers and audiences so that we can all return to the live theater experiences we love."
This comes as the Broadway League is extending vaccination and mask requirements for all 41 Broadway theaters.
The league says its requirement for audience members to be fully vaccinated and wear masks inside will continue until the end of this year.
That vaccination requirement also applies to performers, crew and staff.
For now, disappointed fans have to find somewhere else to go.
"We'll still be able to go out on a little magic carpet ride, you know. We'll figure it out," Marrero said.
The "Aladdin" production team says tickets for the canceled performances will be fully refunded.
