The Radio City Rockettes became the latest casualty of the sweeping COVID-19 surge to disrupt Manhattan's bustling live performance industry, announcing Friday that it has ended its 2021 season.
Adding to the growing list of Broadway show cancelations, "The Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes" initially announced the cancelations of its Friday performances due to breakthrough infections among its crew. Later in the evening, the production announced that the show would stop entirely for the rest of the 2021 season.
“We regret that we are unable to continue the Christmas Spectacular this season due to increasing challenges from the pandemic. We had hoped we could make it through the season and are honored to have hosted hundreds of thousands of fans at more than 100 shows over the last seven weeks," a statement read. "We have loved bringing back this cherished tradition that helps usher in the holiday season in New York City and look forward to welcoming fans back to Radio City Music Hall in 2022.”
A seated audience waiting for the 11 a.m. spectacle to begin learned of the positive case moments before the show was to go on. The Radio City Rockettes were scheduled for shows at 11 a.m., 2 p.m., 5 p.m., and 8 p.m., which were all canceled.
The production said that tickets for all impacted shows would be fully refunded at the point of purchase.
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Positive cases have swept through midtown in recent days, prompting temporary closures of popular restaurants in the city as well as a handful of Broadway productions. Here's a list of the latest Broadway cancelations.
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Radio City has served as a beacon for some of New York's leaders eager to point to the state's success in combating the pandemic. In the spring, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo held a press conference at the music hall where he announced the end of a mask mandate for vaccinated New Yorkers and a first for live events: the concluding night of the Tribeca Film Festival where all attendees had to be vaccinated in order to attend.
And just last week, the state partnered with the Rockettes on a vaccine drive, offering free tickets to the Christmas Spectacular to New Yorkers getting their booster shots.
