“Mrs. Doubtfire” will take a nine-week hiatus, as the production fights to stay open amid rising COVID-19 cases.
The new musical has cancelled performances from Jan. 10 through March 14, with a scheduled resumption date of March 15. The hiatus is intended to set up the production for a longer term run, rather than have to close prematurely, said producer Kevin McCollum.
“The first few months of a brand new Broadway show are an extraordinarily delicate and important period of time. With the pervasiveness of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, ‘Mrs. Doubtfire’ would have to close permanently if the production didn’t take drastic, pro-active measures,” McCollum said in the press release.
Like many other Broadway productions, “Mrs. Doubtfire” cancelled several performances in December due to breakthrough COVID-19 cases in the fully vaccinated company. “Ain’t Too Proud” “Thoughts of a Colored Man,” “Waitress” and “Jagged Little Pill” have already announced the end of their runs following canceled performances due to the virus, as well as what many see as a difficult winter ahead.
The musical will play its scheduled performances from Jan. 4 through Jan. 9.
“Mrs. Doubtfire” restarted previews at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on Oct. 21 and opened on Dec. 5. It had played three previews before the March 12, 2020 shutdown.
The production, which had a 2019 run at Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theatre in 2019, was capitalized for up to $18 million, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. It received a $10 million Shuttered Venue Operators Grant.
