'Frozen' on Broadway to permanently close due to COVID-19 pandemic

May 15, 2020May 15, 2020 The Big Kahuna

Cassie Levy as Elsa from the Broadway musical “Frozen”; Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions(NEW YORK) — The Broadway lights are permanently going dark for the popular Disney musical Frozen, based on the 2013 Oscar-winning animated film.

Thomas Schumacher, president andproducer of Disney Theatrical Productions, confirmed the news Thursday, saying the beloved musical will not return when Broadway reopens.

Citing the “industry-wide shutdown and resulting economic fallout” from the COVID-19 pandemic, Schumacher announced in a statement, “Frozen, like all shows, is wholly dependent on those who create and perform them but this was an uncommonly close and talented group and they’ll be missed.”

Frozen opened March 22, 2018 and ran for 825 performances. When the curtains fell on March 11, 2020, it was unknown that was going to be the musical’s final bow. Over 1.3 million people saw Anna, Elsa, Olaf and Kristoff on the stage, resulting in the musical grossing over $150 million during its two-year run. It was also nominated for the Best Musical Tony Award.

Tickets for the Broadway musical purchased via Ticketmaster will be refunded. Those who used other channels to secure tickets should contact their vendor.

While Frozen‘s run on Broadway has come to an end, a future North American tour is in the works. In addition, starting next year, the Disney musical is scheduled to open in Australia, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Disney is the parent company of ABC News.