Broadway's 'Aladdin' Shut Down After One Performance Due to COVID

A performance of "Aladdin" on Broadway was canceled Wednesday, just one day after the show returned to the theater, after COVID-19 cases were detected among staff within the company, showrunners revealed on Twitter.

"Through our rigorous testing protocols, breakthrough COVID-19 cases have been detected within the company of Aladdin at The New Amsterdam Theatre," the show said Wednesday. "We will continue to provide support to the affected Aladdin company members as they recover."

Broadway began reopening earlier this month following a shutdown in March 2020 due to the pandemic. This marks the first show to be canceled due to COVID since then. Safety protocols have been implemented following Broadway's gradual reopening. All audiences, crews, performers, and other staff across all of New York's 41 Broadway theaters are required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, and those who have not received the vaccine due to health conditions or religious reasons need to produce a negative COVID-19 test, according to CNN. Additionally, members of the audience will have to wear makes while inside the venues. 

Thousands of careers have been affected following Broadway's shutdown and staff have been eager to return to their jobs. Among them is veteran actor Sharon Wheatley, who appears in the show "Come From Away."

"The world has to restart. It just has to. We cannot sustain this anymore," she said, according to the Associated Press. That being said, the health of staff and audience members lies in the hands of health experts, who they rely on to keep them safe. 

"It’s a little bit like when you’re on an airplane and there’s turbulence," Wheatley added. "I have to trust the pilot, I have to trust the air traffic controllers. I feel nervous, but I have to understand that I don’t know as much as these people do."

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