Broadway's shutdown extended through May 2021

Broadway's shutdown is set to continue through May 2021.

The Broadway League on Friday announced that the shutdown that began in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic will extend for nearly eight more months at least, as ticket sales will remain suspended through May 30, 2021.

"With nearly 97,000 workers who rely on Broadway for their livelihood and an annual economic impact of $14.8 billion to the city, our membership is committed to re-opening as soon as conditions permit us to do so," Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin said in a statement. "We are working tirelessly with multiple partners on sustaining the industry once we raise our curtains again."

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New York State Senator Brad Hoylman (D) in response to the news called on Congress to "step up and help us through."

The Broadway League had previously announced the shutdown would be extended at least through January 2021. Asked by The New York Times when Broadway might be able to reopen, St. Martin said "we truly don't know." She added that some shows "think we will open in the summer, and I hope they are right," but "I think people's bets are the fall of next year."

"There would be nothing better for everyone than if we had a date certain, but there isn't one — this is a global pandemic," St. Martin also told the Times. "Do you think I like putting out these statements four times? No! And God, I hope we only have to do it one more time. But we don't know."

Following the extension of Broadway's shutdown, one show that quickly got a new reopening date was The Music Man with Hugh Jackman, which according to Deadline has now scheduled its opening night for February 2022 after recently hoping to open in May 2021. The news of Broadway's shutdown extension comes after the Metropolitan Opera previously announced it wouldn't reopen until September 2021.