Broadway shows suspended through May 2021 due to COVID-19 pandemic

NEW YORK -- The Great White Way won't be back until at least next summer: Broadway shows are now officially suspended until May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Broadway League, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, announced Friday that it will continue the suspension of all performance ticket sales through May 30, 2021. Theatergoers holding tickets until then should contact their point of purchase for refunds and exchanges.

"With nearly 97,000 workers who rely on Broadway for their livelihood and an annual economic impact of $14.8 billion to the city, our membership is committed to re-opening as soon as conditions permit us to do so. We are working tirelessly with multiple partners on sustaining the industry once we raise our curtains again," Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, said in a statement.

Thirty-one Broadway productions had been closed on March 12, when restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic began going into effect. Additionally, eight productions were in rehearsals preparing to open in the spring.

Lauren Glassberg has more on a long-awaited reunion for the Broadway community during a pop-up event in Times Square on Wednesday.

The move by the Broadway League comes less than a month after the Metropolitan Opera said it will skip an entire season for the first time in its nearly 140-year history and intends to return from the pandemic layoff next September.

Broadway grossed $1.8 billion last season and attracted a record 15 million people. Producers and labor unions are discussing ways theaters can reopen safely.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.