NYC entertainment industry workers worry about future amid show cancellations

Entertainment industry workers are worried about being able to make ends meet if their shows shutdown.

With the number of COVID-19 cases surging in New York, workers in the entertainment industry, many of whom are freelancers, are worried about the prospect of another shutdown.

At least 12 Broadway shows have canceled performances due to performers and staff testing positive. Three Broadway shows, "Jagged Little Pill," "Waitress" and "Thoughts of a Colored Man," announced they will close their doors permanently, after detecting multiple positive COVID-19 cases.

The show cancellations are an indication that Broadway producers are taking positive cases seriously and acting appropriately, Mary McColl, executive director of Actors' Equity Association, told the Associated Press.

"The fact that performances are being paused shows that the producers and the unions are staying vigilant," McColl said in a statement to the Associated Press. "That's what the safety protocols are there to be in place for, and this shows that they're working.