No Broadway shows will be performed for the rest of this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, extending the previous suspension through early September, the theater industry body said Monday.
"Broadway performances in New York City will be suspended through the remainder of 2020 due to COVID-19," the Broadway League said in a statement.
"The Broadway League continues to work with city and state officials as well as leaders in science, technology, and medicine to formulate the best plan to restart the industry," the statement said, adding that the organization is exploring ways to ensure audience safety as well as protect performers and staff.
An extended closure of Broadway shows in Manhattan is seen a symbolic development, reflecting that the hardest-hit U.S. city in the pandemic continues to reel from its impacts even as the country moves to reopen the economy in phases.
Broadway theaters are offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for all performances through Jan. 3, 2021, the industry body added.
Broadway performances were suspended on March 12 shortly before the United States shut down businesses and imposed social distancing in the face of a surge in the number of coronavirus infections.
