“Waitress” announced the end of its Broadway run Thursday after canceling shows this week due to breakthrough COVID-19 cases.
The return engagement had been scheduled to end its run on Jan. 9 and is now closed, effectively immediately. The musical had previously canceled its performances from Dec. 21 through Dec. 23 due to positive cases within the company.
This is the second musical to end its run early during the most recent wave of the coronavirus. “Jagged Little Pill” announced Monday that it had already played its final show. “Chicken & Biscuits” was the first this season to cite COVID-19 show cancellations for its closure in November.
“With only two weeks of performances remaining and due to positive cases of COVID detected in the company and crew at the Barrymore Theatre, the decision has been made to curtail the engagement which was scheduled to run through January 9,” said a statement on the Waitress Twitter account.
Fourteen Broadway productions, in addition to “Waitress,” had canceled performances Thursday due to the detection of breakthrough cases in each company. Several shows, including “Hamilton,” “The Lion King” and “Aladdin,” had canceled multiple performances through Christmas.
The closure of “Waitress” means the musical will not perform during the typically lucrative Christmas and New Years weeks. The production received a $10 million Shuttered Venue Operators Grant to help fund reopening operations.
“Waitress” returned to Broadway to play the Ethel Barrymore Theatre this fall, with Sara Bareilles, the musical’s composer, in the lead role. The musical played its first preview on Sept. 2, making it one of the earliest Broadway shows to resume performances. Ciara Renée and Joshua Henry were the musical’s leads at the time of closure.
The production previously play the Brooks Atkinson Theatre from April 2016 to January 2020.
“Waitress” was produced by Barry and Fran Weissler, directed by Diane Paulus and choreographed by Lorin Latarro. Jessie Nelson wrote the musical’s book.
