Without even a single raindrop having fallen, Hurricane Irene has shut down weddings, concerts, flights, and mass transit around the city. But there's one industry who laughs in the face of 100 MPH winds: Broadway. [Um, Update Below]
“As of now, all Broadway shows in New York City for the coming weekend are playing as scheduled,” said Paul Libin, the Chairman of The Broadway League and Executive Vice President of Jujamcyn Theaters. Broadway may be staying open for now, but as Variety points out, the threat of Irene's tempestuous weather, may scare away both ticketholders and ticketbuyers away from the city.
It's very rare for Broadway to shut down due to weather, or for any reason—it shut down for three performances in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, and all shows were darkened for a night by the Northeast blackout in August 2003. Otherwise, some productions also were shuttered for multiple performances during the labor strikes of 2003 and 2007.
However, other non-Broadway events have been canceled: "Due to the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene, we have decided to cancel all FringeNYC events on Sunday, August 28th," said Fringe head Elena K. Holy, who added that The FringeNYC Closing Night Party was also canceled for that evening.
Update: Scratch all that: all Broadway and off-Broadway performances have been cancelled on Saturday, August 27 and Sunday, August 28. So much for mighty mighty Broadway.
