After having to cancel more than a week’s worth of shows after members of its company tested positive for the coronavirus, the producers of the new Broadway play “Chicken & Biscuits” announced Thursday that it would it end its run on Nov. 28, citing “the significant financial impact of the show cancellations.”
“We make this decision with a very heavy heart,” the producers said in a statement, “as this production has brought so much joy into our lives during a very challenging time.”
The show had announced Tuesday that it was canceling three performances this week after testing had detected what producers said were breakthrough virus cases within the company. On Thursday they said they would extend the pause and suspend performances through Nov. 18. The play, at Circle in the Square Theater, will restart on Nov. 19, the producers said. It had originally been scheduled to run through Jan. 2.
Disney Theatrical’s “Aladdin” had to cancel performances because of positive virus tests within the company, but the long-running show later resumed performances. There is a strict Broadway vaccination mandate that applies to performers, backstage crew and theater staff as well as audiences.
It was unclear how well “Chicken & Biscuits” was selling before the cases were detected; in a break from past practice, the Broadway League has decided not to disclose box office grosses for individual shows this season as theaters reopen after the long pandemic shutdown.
The producers of “Chicken & Biscuits” said there has been interest in the show from touring companies and regional theaters. They called its Broadway run “an inspiring experience” and said that they had been determined to briefly resume performances on Nov. 19 “to complete this Broadway run on the high note it deserves.”
The play, which stars Norm Lewis and Michael Urie, has a company that includes more than 30 people making their Broadway debuts. The play, which garnered mixed reviews, is a comic chronicle of a squabbling family forced to come together to mourn the loss of its patriarch. The director is Zhailon Levingston, who made his debut with the show, becoming the youngest Black director in Broadway history.
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