Will the shows go on?

Broadway:

The Broadway League announced at 3 PM that all Broadway performances for the evening of Jan. 26 were canceled due to travel restrictions put in place by city and state officials.

The cancellation impacts only three Broadway productions that were scheduled to perform the evening of Jan. 26: Chicago, Mamma Mia! and The Phantom of the Opera, which was to celebrate its 27th anniversary on Broadway Monday night.

Disney Theatrical Productions also canceled scheduled performances of Aladdin and The Lion King for Jan. 27 as the New York City area was already blanketed with significant snowfall by 4 PM Monday evening. Disney is offering complimentary ticket exchanges for performances through Wednesday, Jan. 28. For details on Disney production schedules, visit aladdinthemusical.com/weather and lionking.com/weather.

 

 

 

It has not yet been determined by the Broadway League as to whether remaining Broadway performances will go on the evening of Jan. 27. An announcement regarding Tuesday evening performances is expected Tuesday morning.

"As a result of the travel restrictions put in place by government authorities and additional safety precautions implemented due to severe weather, the three shows scheduled to play on Broadway tonight have been cancelled," Broadway League executive director Charlotte St. Martin said in a late-day statement on Monday. "I'd like to reiterate that the safety and security of theatregoers and employees is everyone's primary concern. We will issue an update tomorrow morning regarding Tuesday's performance schedule, pending direction from government officials about travel restrictions, transportation, and safety precautions due to the winter storm. Theatregoers should contact their point of purchase for refunds and exchanges."

It is expected that the remainder of Broadway prouctions will follow Disney's lead on the cancellation of Tuesday night shows, but an official announcement has yet to be made.

Producers Barry and Fran Weissler, whose long-running hit Chicago was scheduled to perform Jan. 26 and remains open Jan. 27, sent out an email to the entire company of the Kander and Ebb musical on Monday morning, offering to provide hotel rooms near the theatre for company members who would not be able to return to the city for the planned Tuesday evening performance. 

The Weissler's hit revival of Grease was famously the only Broadway production to offer a performance on Jan. 8, 1996, when two feet of snow shut down the rest of Broadway – providing stranded theatregoers a chance to still catch a show.

Read about Broadway's history of weathering all types of storms here.

Off-Broadway:

A number of Off-Broadway theatres have announced that performances will be canceled Jan. 26-27 due to the weather conditions, including productions slated to begin previews on those dates. We will continue to update the information below as well as the best way for ticket holders to exchange advance sales.

Monday, Jan. 26
Nevermore at New World Stages has now confirmed that the Jan. 26 performance is cancelled. Application Pending, due to begin previews on Jan. 26 at the Westside Theatre, has confirmed that the performance for Jan. 26 will be canceled. The 59E59 Theater has confirmed that all performances for Jan. 26-27 have been canceled.

Tuesday, Jan. 27
The York Theatre has postponed the first performance of Texas in Paris until Jan. 28. Ticket holders are urged to call the box office at (212) 935-5820. Roundabout Theatre Company's Off-Broadway productions of Into the Woods and Little Children Dream of God, as well as The New Group's Rasheeda Speaking are currently on track to offer shows Jan. 27.

Special events and concert venues:

Venues including 54 Below, Birdland and Joe's Pub canceled all performances for the evening of Jan. 26.

Here's the rundown on what venues are closing and what, if any, will remain open.

Ticket exchanges:

Ticketholders seeking to exchange their tickets due to the weather event should contact their point of purchase.

Many Broadway productions are already offering ticket exchanges in response to the storm.

Shows offering Advance Exchanges include:

Beautiful - The Carole King Musical
The Book of Mormon
Chicago
Constellations
The Curious Incident of the Dog...
A Delicate Balance
Disgraced
The Elephant Man
A Gentleman's Guide...
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
It's Only a Play
Jersey Boys
Kinky Boots
Les Misérables
Mamma Mia!
Matilda the Musical
The Phantom of the Opera
The River
You Can't Take It With You

Off-Broadway shows offering Advance Exchanges (before the performance) for Telecharge customers who are unable to attend a performance on January 26–27, due to the storm:

Application Pending
Avenue Q
Film Chinois
Nevermore
NEWSical the Musical
Wiesenthal

Telecharge: Call (212) 239-6280 or visit Telecharge.com.
Ticketmaster: Call (800) 653-8000 or visit Ticketmaster.com.

The latest on the weather:

The Weather Channel has named the storm "Winter Storm Juno." With New York City already blanketed under several inches of snow by rush hour, local news reports that the heaviest snowfall will continue from 10 PM through 9 AM. There is the potential for 12 inches of snow to fall within a four-hour period. The city will see snowfall of 2-4 inches per hour at certain points during the storm, according to NBC New York. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph will accompany predicted sustained winds of 30-40 mph. There is also a possibility of lightning and thunder throughout the most intense parts of the weather event.

With the potential for historic snowfall amounts, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who declared a state of emergency for broad sections of New York State – including the entire New York City metropolitan area – has urged New Yorkers to work from home or to leave their offices early as the storm bears down on the North East. Whiteout conditions across the area are expected with blizzard warnings in effect for New York City, northern New Jersey, Long Island and Southern Connecticut. 

The roads will be closed to all non-emergency vehicles beginning at 11 PM this evening. All bridges and tunnels surrounding New York City will also close at 11 PM.

"This blizzard is forecasted to be one of the worst this region has seen, and we must put safety first and take all necessary precautions," Governor Cuomo said. "Commuters and drivers need to get home as quickly as possible before the storm completely cripples our transit networks and roads. The State will close all roads and public transportation effective at 11 PM and we urge all New Yorkers to prioritize safety and be patient as we wait for this storm to pass."

"My message to all New Yorkers is, prepare for something worse than we have seen before," New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in a press conference a day ahead of the blizzard. "Don't underestimate this storm."

What's in store for New Yorkers, commuters and out of towners:

The MTA has already begun reduced service along all subway and bus lines, many of which are already experiencing delays during an overcrowded commute. The entire subway and bus system will shut down by 11 PM along with the Long Island Railroad and Metro-North. The last Metro-North trains to operate before the shutdown will start at 9 PM.

Cuomo tweeted that only local subway service will be available after 8 PM.

 

In NYC, only local subway service will be available after 8 p.m. Monday. Follow @MTA for more updates. #blizzardof2015

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) January 26, 2015

Both the Long Island Railroad and MetroNorth were running additional trains early Monday afternoon to help commuters return to their homes. Numerous Long Island Railroad trains are experiencing delays due to crowds and meeting connections.

Many trains on the LIRR were running with delays due to a high volume of customers traveling during winter storm conditions.

Cancellations and service changes are expected for the Long Island Railroad, Metro-North and NJ Transit. Metro North and LIRR service could be suspended for Tuesday, Jan. 27. NJ Transit was shut down by 8 PM Monday night.

Ahead of the storm, Metro-North and LIRR announced that extra trains would depart Grand Central Station beginning at 1 PM on Monday in order to transport commuters safely out of the city. 

Amtrak is also operating modified schedules throughout the Norheast Corridor as weather impacted the area. The Downeaster line, which runs from Boston to Maine, was suspended for Jan. 27.

Here's a look at the weekly schedule of Broadway shows.

What this means for actors:

Several auditions scheduled to take place Jan. 27 have already been canceled. For a full list click here.

Playbill.com will continue to update on closures and schedule changes for Broadway, Off-Broadway and special events on Jan. 27.

Follow Playbill on Twitter for the latest updates and coverage of #Blizzardof2015 as well as #BwaySnowDay:

We don't know about YOU guys, but we're wearing our Kinky Snow Boots. #BwaySnowDay @KinkyBootsBway pic.twitter.com/WBuUu9M4Xz

— Playbill (@playbill) January 26, 2015