Broadway Shows Canceled Over Poor Air Quality in New York City
Smoke from Canadian wildfires have blanketed the northeast this week, causing air quality to reach hazardous levels in New York City and elsewhere.
Last night, Hamilton and Lincoln Center's Lerner & Loewe's Camelot canceled their scheduled Wednesday evening performances. Shane Marshall Brown, a spokesman for Hamilton, said in a statement, "The hazardous air quality in New York City has made it impossible for a number of our artists to perform this evening." Camelot spokeswoman Julianna Hannett cited "the impact of the air quality on our artists" when announcing the cancelation.
The Public Theater announced it would be canceling the first two performances of Hamlet, their free Shakespeare in the Park production, on June 8 and today, June 9, "due to the ongoing issues of air quality & the added effect it is having on finalizing the production at The Delacorte," the theater said in a statement.
"As the air quality continues to evolve, we are closely monitoring the situation and following guidance from the city and the Parks Department," the Public Theater continued. "Although we rarely make a cancellation call of Free Shakespeare in the Park early, to ensure the safety of our company, crew, onsite staff, and audience members, a decision was made to cancel before the show starts." The Public says it hopes to resume performances this weekend, but will "closely monitor the ongoing situation."
The impact of the smoke was felt throughout Broadway for shows that didn't cancel, too. During the Wednesday matinee of Prime Facie, star Jodie Comer, stopped the production about ten minutes in, saying she had difficulty breathing. The show resumed with an understudy, Dani Arlington. "Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing due to the poor air quality in New York City because of smoke from the Canadian wildfires," Jim Byk, a spokesman for Prime Facie, said in a statement.
Hamilton says it plans to resume this evening.
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