COVID cancels Minneapolis performances of Broadway musical, postpones Walker show

Update: The Friday night and Saturday afternoon performances of "Come From Away" have now been canceled, too, as the production rehearses with new cast members with the goal of resuming the run on Saturday evening.

Breakthrough COVID-19 cases among company members forced the cancellation of Thursday evening's performance of "Come From Away," a touring Broadway musical that started a two-week Minneapolis run Tuesday.

The performance, at the 2,600-seat Orpheum Theatre, was about 80% sold, according to Dale Stark, a spokesperson for Hennepin Theatre Trust. Those patrons were being contacted Thursday afternoon.

The trust hopes to get ticketholders scheduled for another performance before the run ends Jan. 23. It may also add a makeup performance of the musical, about a remote Canadian town that welcomed airline travelers who were stranded after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

"People literally have to take no action," Stark said.

The producers are flying in standbys so Friday's performance will take place as scheduled, he added. "As Broadway tours adapt [to COVID], they're getting more savvy about having more standbys — more people ready — so they can pull them from wherever."

Separately, Walker Art Center announced Thursday that it has postponed another show in its Out There series in response to the pandemic. New dates and ticketing information for Annie Dorsen's "Yesterday Tomorrow," slated for Jan. 27-29, will be announced soon.

The Walker previously pushed back "KLII," a new work by Kaneza Schaal whose premiere was scheduled to kick off the series.

"This has been mutually decided by the artists, the Walker Art Center, and [co-presenter] the Great Northern in the interest of keeping our communities, artists, and staff safe," the Walker said in a statement.