Hugh Jackman has revealed that he has tested positive for COVID-19 thus will be unable to perform on Broadway play The Music Man for the time being.
The 53-year-old talented Australian actor took to Twitter to share a video of himself on Tuesday morning making the announcement.
He captioned it: ‘Just wanted you to hear it from me. I tested positive for covid. Mild symptoms and as soon as I’m cleared … looking forward to getting back to The Winter Garden! @MusicManBway’
Sad news: Hugh Jackman has revealed that he has tested positive for COVID-19 thus will be unable to perform on Broadway play The Music Man for the time being
Dynamic duo: Hugh began his stint on The Music Man at the Winter Garden Theater alongside actress Sutton Foster on December 20
In the short video, Hugh donned a black face mask as he addressed his 14.6million followers.
He said: ‘Hey good morning, so I just wanted you to hear it from me that I tested positive this morning for COVID. My symptoms are like a cold, I have like a scratchy throat and bit of a runny nose but I’m fine. And I’m just gonna do everything I can to get better ASAP.
‘And as soon as I’m cleared I’ll be back on stage heading to River City. So just wanted you to hear from me. So please stay safe, be healthy, be kind.’
‘Just wanted you to hear it from me’: The 53-year-old talented Australian actor took to Twitter to share a video of himself on Tuesday morning making the announcement
Hugh began his stint on The Music Man at the Winter Garden Theater alongside actress Sutton Foster on December 20.
However ahead of a Christmas Eve performance on Friday, 46-year-old Foster had tested positive and was unable to perform that night on Broadway.
And luckily an understudy named Kathy Voytko was able to jump into the role in just five hours despite only ever rehearsing for the show once that same day.
Audience footage captured the moment Jackman, the star of the show, taking a moment during the cast bows to highlight the amazing feat.
‘It humbles me,’ Jackman said. ‘The courage it brings, the dedication, the talent. The swings, the understudies, they are the bedrock of Broadway.’
‘My symptoms are like a cold, I have like a scratchy throat and bit of a runny nose but I’m fine’: In the short video, Hugh donned a black face mask as he addressed his 14.6million followers
Hugh said: ‘And I’m just gonna do everything I can to get better ASAP. And as soon as I’m cleared I’ll be back on stage heading to River City’
During the tribute to Voytko, Jackman brought out all the last-minute replacements to the stage to honor them for their dedication and hard work in helping the show go on.
Jackman said the the latest COVID surge has been troubling to Broadway, which usually enjoys larger audiences during the holiday season.
‘It’s happening all over Broadway. This is a time we’ve never known,’ Jackman said
We’re in our fourth preview, we’re all just sort of learning, so swings and understudies have not had a chance to learn.
Hugh signed off on the video by sweetly saying: ‘So please stay safe, be healthy, be kind’
‘Take it from me, real superheroes do not wear capes,’ the X-Men actor joked.
Foster, 46, said she tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday and lauded Voytko for her performance
The Statesboro, Georgia, native said she was ‘grateful to Kathy and our incredible company’ and ‘grateful to all swings and understudies who keep all the shows going, now and always.’
Foster called her costar in the musical Hugh Jackman ‘a class act,’ and encouraged her followers to ‘get tested, get vaccinated and get boosted.’
The musical issued a statement on Twitter Friday that it has canceled its shows for Saturday and Sunday due to breakthrough cases of COVID-19.
‘Our company would have loved nothing more than to celebrate the holiday with the audience and their families, but the priority is the health and wellness of the cast, crew and audience,’ organizers said in a tweet.
‘We are so grateful to our entire cast and crew — most especially our heroic understudies and swings — for ensuring our speedy return to the Winter Garden Theatre.
This comes as Broadway has been hit particularly hard by a surge in COVID-19 cases due to the omicron variant, with other popular plays like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Hamilton, and MJ The Musical all cancelling upcoming shows due to the outbreak.
Dear Evan Hansen, Aladdin, Ain’t Too Proud, and Skeleton Crew also shuttered performances until after Christmas due to positive Covid cases among actors and stagehands.
But despite the cancellations, Broadway League President Charlotte St. Martin said that curtains are not down on Broadway.
‘We have absolutely no plans to shut down,’ she told The Hollywood Reporter. ‘We are paying serious attention to the protocols.
‘The other 20 to 30 shows continue to perform because we’re following the protocols that we set up, and it shows they’re working.’
Mary McColl, executive director of Actors’ Equity Association, which represents actors and stage managers, said the cancellation of shows means that Broadway producers are taking cases seriously and acting appropriately.
St. Martin told the Hollywood Reporter that crews on shows are getting tested and that cast and audience safety is a priority.
‘But our number one priority is safety and security and, if the show is opening, we believe that we have the correct information that says it is safe to open for the cast, the crew and the audience,’ she added. ‘If we don’t feel it’s safe, we don’t perform that day.’