New York (AFP)
Broadway theaters will remain closed due to the coronavirus pandemic until at least September 6 and have not yet set a reopening date, the Broadway League professional association announced on Tuesday.
All performances in the area surrounding the famous Times Square have been suspended since March 12, after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo banned rallies.
Never before has the famous New York theater district been closed for so long since its advent in the late 19th century.
Broadway loses more than $ 30 million in box office revenue every week it closes.
When the performances were suspended, 31 shows were playing on Broadway and eight more were preparing for their spring debut.
Two productions, those of the pieces "Hangmen" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf?", The first of which had not yet taken place, have announced their definitive cancellation.
The musical "Beetlejuice", which was originally scheduled to complete its performances in early June, also announced that it would not return.
Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement that she is working with Broadway professional unions, political and health officials "to determine the safest way to restart our industry."
Some professionals are already planning to stop until 2021.
The long-awaited resumption of the play "Plaza Suite", with Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker, city couple, in the main roles, was officially postponed Tuesday by a full year, with a premiere now set for March 19, 2021 , against March 13, 2020 so far.
Elsewhere in the United States, several reputable theaters have announced that their programming will not resume until 2021.
In Minneapolis, the Guthrie Theater plans to return in March and a shortened season, until August.
In Cleveland, Playhouse Square has pushed back to 2021 a series of performances of seven shows already played on Broadway.
© 2020 AFP