Broadway Shows Extend Coronavirus Suspension Through May 30

(Bloomberg) -- New York’s Broadway venues, the pinnacle of live theater in the U.S., will remain dark at least through May 30 in an extension of their closing for the coronavirus pandemic.

Specific return dates for new and resuming Broadway shows will be determined by their production companies, the Broadway League trade association said in a statement Friday. Plays and musicals, suspended since March 12, previously were expected to resume ticket sales in January.

The extended absence of Broadway performances illustrates the pain felt throughout the live-entertainment world, which operates on tight margins in the best of times and has few options for bringing in revenue while shuttered.

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Broadway supports the employment of nearly 97,000 people and adds $14.8 billion a year to the New York economy, Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin said in the statement. “We are working tirelessly with multiple partners on sustaining the industry once we raise our curtains again,” she said.

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