Theaters in New York City were impacted by the smoke from Canadian wildfires that floated into the city. As a result, both “Hamilton” and the Free Shakespeare in the Park production of “Hamlet” had to cancel their performances.
Due to hazardous air quality, numerous cast members from “Hamilton” called in sick, which forced the production to cancel its Wednesday night show. Shane Marshall Brown, a spokesperson for the production, apologized for any inconvenience but mentioned that the show would resume as scheduled the next day.
The Public Theater had to cancel their final dress rehearsal of “Hamlet” due to the poor air quality and a loss of rehearsal time. As concerns persisted, the first two scheduled previews on Thursday and Friday nights were also canceled.
The theater owners and producers of Broadway held an emergency meeting on Wednesday afternoon but ultimately decided to allow 31 scheduled performances to continue with the shows that evening, despite the minority canceling their events, both indoor and outdoor alike.
The air quality in New York City reached a record-breaking level of unhealthiness. Many organizations, including the Yankees, canceled their events due to the situation, and the smoke has impacted live performances in the city for more than 24 hours.
The smoke from the Canadian wildfires led to Jodie Comer, the actress from the one-woman show “Prima Facie,” to stop the production about ten minutes into the play. This resulted in the show restarting with her understudy.
Numerous performances were canceled as government officials began warning people about the health risks associated with going outside. Vineyard Theater and New York Live Arts were also among the canceled performances.
BRIC initially planned to hold their Celebrate Brooklyn festival, which included a concert by Taj Mahal and Corinne Bailey Rae, but later had to cancel due to poor air quality issues.
