No ‘Hamilton’ Until After Christmas, as Virus Upends the Performing Arts

Concerns about the Omicron variant are also starting to take a toll on future productions: The first North American production of Tom Stoppard’s acclaimed new play, “Leopoldstadt,” was canceled entirely; it had been scheduled to begin a seven-week run in Toronto on Jan. 22. And in Ottawa, “Hamilton” postponed a scheduled run by six months.

The pandemic is once again hitting touring Broadway shows: “The Lion King” canceled its Sunday night performance in Denver. “Pretty Woman” canceled its final several performances in Chicago.

In the dance world, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater canceled performances at New York City Center, while Mark Morris canceled performances over the weekend at Zellerbach Hall at the University of California, Berkeley.

In sports, the N.B.A. and N.H.L. announced a round of game postponements, and the N.F.L. adjusted its testing policies, to address a surge in cases.

The film world offered evidence that audiences are still willing to gather. The industry had a great weekend, thanks to Spider-Man. But not all theaters were joining the party: Metrograph, citing the pandemic, said it would close its Lower East Side theater until Christmas, and Spectacle Theater, in Brooklyn, closed until Jan. 4.

On Broadway, after a rocky weekend, the cancellations seemed sure to continue. On Monday, the Manhattan Theater Club announced that it was delaying its Broadway production of “Skeleton Crew,” a new play by Dominique Morisseau; previews, which had been scheduled to start Tuesday, would instead start on Dec. 27, “due to company members having tested positive for Covid-19.”

Off Broadway, there were multiple shows down over the last week, often canceling at the very last minute. “Trevor,” a new musical at Stage42, canceled its Sunday matinee and then on Monday said it would shut down, canceling the remaining two weeks of performances. And among those that canceled at least one performance were “The Alchemist” at Red Bull Theater, “Cheek to Cheek” at York Theater Company, “Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas!” at New Victory Theater, “Hear/Now:LIVE!” at Keen Company, “Kimberly Akimbo” at Atlantic Theater Company, “Morning Sun” at Manhattan Theater Club and “While You Were Partying” at Soho Rep.