Since the DC area is under a hurricane warning for Sept. 18, resident theatres including Arena Stage, Studio Theatre and Arlington's Signature Theatre are closed Sept. 18, aiming to open for businesses again Sept. 19, if weather and services allow.

Delaware Theatre Company in Wilmington, presenting Frankie & Johnny in the Clair de Lune, has also canceled its Sept. 18 performance.

In Baltimore, the national tour of Hairspray is facing a bad hair day. The Sept. 18 performance at the Morris Mechanic Theatre has been canceled due to bad weather.

Playgoers on the mid-Atlantic coast should inquire at point of purchase about refunds, exchanges and schedule changes for shows.

A spokesperson for Arena Stage in DC, presenting the world premiere of Ken Ludwig's Shakespeare in Hollywood, said the troupe hopes to resume performances Sept. 19. Ditto Signature Theatre in Arlington, where busy Ludwig's Twentieth Century revision is being seen. Inland in North Carolina, in the flat, midstate area known as the Piedmont, rehearsals continue for the most ironic title of that hurricane season — The Rainmaker, which begins previews Sunday, Sept. 21, at Greensboro's Triad Stage. The storm will be long gone from North Carolina by that point, as it breaks up into a tropical storm over the East Coast.

The morning of Sept. 18, the New Jersey shore was just beginning to feel the impact of the storm. However, the George Street Theatre of New Brunswick and the McCarter Theatre of Princeton told Playbill On-Line that they planned to proceed with the evening's performances.

It was announced the morning of Sept. 18 that New York City was under a tropical storm warning for 24 hours, but there has been no announcement of canceled theatrical events. Typically, when tropical storms come as far north as Manhattan they bring rain and lashing high winds, as well as tidal swells. The worst of the weather is expected to hit New York City on Friday.