Radio City Music Hall halts 2021 Christmas Spectacular amid COVID-19 surge

NEW YORK — Coronavirus has put the kibosh on another beloved holiday activity, forcing Radio City Music Hall to formally cancel the remainder of the Rockettes’ “Christmas Spectacular” shows for 2021.

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Citing “increasing challenges from the pandemic,” the iconic dance troupe confirmed late Friday via Twitter that the high-kicking holiday showcase has been shuttered through the end of the year.

“We had hoped we could make it through the season and are honored to have hosted hundreds of thousands of fans at more than 100 shows over the last seven weeks,” the Rockettes wrote.

>> Related: Radio City Rockettes returning for ‘Christmas Spectacular’ after forced COVID-19 pause

The Christmas Spectacular had been scheduled to run through Jan. 2 with multiple performances each day, The New York Times reported.

The production has been seen by more than 69 million people since its 1933 debut, WABC reported.

The news came several hours after the troupe canceled all four of Friday’s performances after an unspecified number of breakthrough COVID-19 cases were diagnosed within the company, WLNY reported.

Meanwhile, a string of high-profile Broadway shows - including “Ain’t Too Proud — The Life and Times of the Temptations,” “Hamilton,” “MJ The Musical,” “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Tina — The Tina Turner Musical” - had already canceled performances through at least Sunday, citing breakthrough COVID-19 infections, the TV station reported.

According to the Times, seven of the 32 shows currently running on Broadway cited coronavirus concerns in canceling Friday night performances, and an eighth, a revival of “Company,” was halted 10 minutes after the curtain was raised when a cast member fell ill.

Meanwhile, the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater canceled all of its remaining performances for the week, while the Red Bull Theater canceled its remaining Off Broadway performances of “The Alchemist” and Soho Rep canceled the rest of its performances of “While You Were Partying,” the newspaper reported.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul expressed concern after the state’s current COVID-19 case count more than doubled from just under 9,000 infections on Monday to roughly 21,000 on Thursday, WLNY reported.

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Radio City Rockettes (Original Caption) New York, New York: The Rockettes on stage at Radio city Music Hall with the letter "R" on their costumes and legs raised for their classic chorus line performance. (Bettmann/Bettmann Archive)

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