‘Come From Away’ permanently ends at Toronto’s Royal Alexandra Theatre, COVID blamed
Posted December 27, 2021 6:51 pm.
Last Updated December 27, 2021 7:05 pm.
The production company behind Come From Away in Toronto has announced the musical will be closing permanently, citing issues related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The announcement by Mirvish Productions came just days after it was announced the show was going to be suspended for four performances after a member of the crew tested positive for COVID-19.
“In only seven days, the Omicron variant drew the curtain on this production in Toronto,” a statement issued Monday evening said.
The final show at the Royal Alexandra Theatre was on Dec. 22. The company noted Come From Away had 855 performances
David Mirvish, the head of Mirvish Productions, said in the statement it was “bluntly apparent” a surge in Omicron variant cases would make the show “impossible to continue.”
RELATED: ‘Come From Away’ suspends four shows after positive COVID-19 case in stage crew
He also took aim at governments in the statement, saying unlike other countries there was a lack of a financial “safety net” for the commercial theatre sector.
“Without such a safety net, it is impossible for the production to take yet another extended hiatus. The costs of reopening a second time are prohibitively high and risky,” he wrote, adding productions of the show in the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom are continuing.
“This is not the way any of us wanted this to end. Come From Away deserves to have had many more years at the Royal Alex. But the risks, uncertainty and financial situation have left us without another realistic outcome.”
The statement said anyone with tickets to any of the future cancelled performances will be contacted and offered credits to other productions, gift cards, or refunds at the patron’s request.
Meanwhile, Ontario continues to deal with record-high daily COVID-19 case counts. Public Health Ontario reported on Saturday that the province saw 10,412 infections, which is the highest since the pandemic began. On Monday, there were 9,418 new infections reported.
