Radio City Music Hall on Friday announced that the Rockettes’ famous “Christmas Spectacular” at Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center has been canceled for the rest of the season because of COVID.
Initially, all four Friday shows were canceled following “breakthrough cases in the production,” according to the company. The end of the rest of the season was announced just hours later.
The “Christmas Spectacular Starring the Rockettes” had been scheduled to run through Jan. 2.
The theater was shuttered as the city reported a single-day record of close to 10,300 COVID cases.
“We regret that we are unable to continue the Christmas Spectacular this season due to increasing challenges from the pandemic,” the company said a sad statement Friday.
“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 the last seven weeks,” it added.
Just last week, the state partnered with the Rockettes on a vaccine drive, offering free tickets to the Christmas Spectacular to New Yorkers getting booster shots.
All Christmas Spectacular employees were required to be vaccinated. But the theater didn’t require testing, The New York Times reported.
In addition, while masks were recommended for vaccinated cast, crew and audience members, they were not required, as they are at all Broadway plays.
From the beginning of the season, audience members ages 12 and older were required to show proof of vaccination. On Thursday, ushers started checking for proof of at least one dose of the COVID vaccine for children ages 5 to 11.
Breakthrough cases have already forced the shutdown of several Broadway shows and some city restaurants this week.
The annual New Year’s Eve celebration in Times Square could now also be in jeopardy.
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