One day after reopening, the Broadway production of Aladdin had to shut down yet again after there were multiple breakthrough COVID-19 cases within the company.
“Through our rigorous testing protocols, breakthrough COVID-19 cases have been detected within the company of Aladdin at The New Amsterdam Theater,” Disney Theatrical, the production company, said in a statement.
Wednesday night's performance was cancelled approximately a half-hour before curtain. One audience member who was on the way to the theater told Gothamist that she had gotten a text from a friend seven minutes before the doors were supposed to open informing her of the cancellation.
There's no indication yet how many shows will be cancelled or when performances may resume; the company said it would provide refunds to fans affected by cancellations.
This marks the first Broadway production to shut down because of COVID since shows began reopening in recent weeks, though it hasn't been without some hiccups. Several off-Broadway productions have been affected by breakthrough cases, and the NY Times points out that Waitress had a positive test in its cast before its opening performance, but "was able to use testing to determine that the rest of the cast was OK, and then to keep going with an understudy."
Tuesday marked Aladdin's first show in 18 months since the start of the pandemic turned the lights off on Broadway. The show was by all accounts a joyous occasion, although it's worth noting that it featured three understudies filling in.
The New Amsterdam Theater has required all theatergoers age 12 and above to be fully vaccinated; those ages 4-12 must show either a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours before the show or a negative rapid antigen test taken within six hours of the show (children under 4 are not allowed).
Update 4:15 p.m. Disney Theatrical said in a statement that Aladdin will resume performances tonight.
“Our extensive protocol system to test our employees and identify positive cases worked, and allowed us to act immediately to contain those cases,” the statement reads.”Given the thoroughness of our COVID protocols and a vaccinated workforce, we remain confident that the environment is safe for our guests, cast, crew and musicians.”
Deadline adds that there have been two additional rounds of subsequent testing since last night, including a rapid PCR test and a lab-based PCR test, and it has shown there are "no new breakthrough cases in the Aladdin cast.”
