From Disneyland to Coachella, coronavirus has shut down these entertainment events
As the novel coronavirus continues to spread, a new kind of cancel culture has taken hold in the entertainment industry. But over the weekend the hammer came down, with state, county and local governments in California and beyond closing most entertainment venues.
On March 15, the state, Los Angeles County and the city of Los Angeles ordered the shutdown of movie theaters, nightclubs, bars, arcades, bowling alleys and more through at least March 31. Other cities have done the same, with many following or exceeding L.A.’s example. Takeout and drive-through orders at restaurants are still allowed.
In recent weeks, before those closures, movie releases, film festivals, concerts and other entertainment events involving crowds and international travel had already taken a hit from the spread of the COVID-19 respiratory illness.
Universal Pictures took the extraordinary step March 16 of collapsing the theatrical window on its films, announcing that current movies including “The Invisible Man,” “The Hunt” and “Emma” will be available on-demand sooner than 90 days after the movies’ theatrical release. Disney had done the same with the streaming release of “Frozen 2” on Disney+, which happened March 15.
The venerable South by Southwest multimedia conference in Austin, Texas, was canceled. And the Coachella and Stagecoach festivals have been rescheduled until the fall.
Even Disneyland, which has closed on only two previous occasions in history — 9/11 and the national day of mourning after the JFK assassination — announced March 12 that it would be shutting down through the end of the month.
From the next James Bond film and St. Patrick’s Day parades to the Louvre museum and BTS concerts, here’s a rundown of what’s been affected by the coronavirus around the world.
This list — which includes events, movies, music, theater, books, opera, theme parks, museums and dance — is being updated regularly as more events are affected.
Events
Following weeks of speculation, promoter Goldenvoice announced March 10 that two of its marquee annual festivals, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and Stagecoach, would shift from April to October. Both events take place at the Empire Polo Club in Indio. “At the direction of the County of Riverside and local health authorities,” Goldenvoice’s statement read, “we must sadly confirm the rescheduling of Coachella and Stagecoach due to COVID-19 concerns.”
SXSW, which was set to take place March 16-22 in Austin, as canceled March 6. In an afternoon press conference, Austin Mayor Steve Adler said he had declared a local disaster and “together with that I have issued an order that effectively cancels South by Southwest this year.” Major participants including the Concord record label group, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Apple, Netflix and Amazon had already pulled out before the cancellation.
E3 2020, a.k.a. the Electronic Entertainment Expo, was canceled on March 11. The conference, which would have run June 9-11 at the L.A. Convention Center, is the top trade event for the video-game industry and has had tickets available to the public since 2017.
WonderCon Anaheim 2020 has been postponed from April 10-12 to an as-yet-undecided future date. Refunds will be forthcoming. No decision has been made regarding 2020 Comic-Con International: San Diego, scheduled for July 23-26, but organizers said they were working with officials to monitor the situation. DC, the home of Wonder Woman and Batman, had already announced it would not send staffers to comics conventions in March and would assess future attendance case by case.
Promoter Goldenvoice announced that the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has been officially rescheduled for the weekends of Oct. 9 and Oct. 16.
Acting out of what it called “an abundance of caution,” Boston on March 9 shelved its famed St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which was set for March 15 and which last year drew more than 1 million people. On March 11, Chicago called off its popular parade just days before its planned March 14 date, as did Pittsburgh before its March 15 event and Cleveland before its March 17 event. The New York City St. Patrick’s Day parade, which has been held every year since 1762, was finally canceled the afternoon of March 11. The parade features about 150,000 participants and draws about 2 million spectators.
Those decisions follow similar announcements about the cancellation of all St. Patrick’s parades and festivals in Ireland and the Belfast St. Patrick’s parade in Northern Ireland.
The Los Angeles Times Food Bowl, previously set for May, will be moved to the fall. Dates have yet to be announced.
RuPaul’s DragCon L.A. 2020, a celebration of drag, queer culture and self-expression that was set for May 1-3, has been canceled. The event will return in 2021, organizers said, and refunds will be issued.
Cinemacon 2020, the movie industry’s annual trade show, has been canceled. It was to be held March 30-April 2 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas.
The 2020 NAB Show, organized by the National Assn. of Broadcasters and set for April, is not moving forward. The content-focused event typically draws 100,000 people to the Las Vegas Convention Center.
San Francisco’s 2020 Game Developers Conference, a professional gathering for interactive industry members set for March 16-20, has been postponed after multiple participants pulled out. Microsoft, Sony Interactive Entertainment, Electronic Arts, Facebook Gaming, Unity, Amazon and Activision Blizzard were among the top gaming companies that canceled.
HISTORYCon, a three-day immersive look at American history featuring historians, authors and talent from various History Channel shows, has been postponed. The new date for the Pasadena event, which was scheduled for April 3-5, is yet to be determined.
The GLAAD Media Awards in Los Angeles are no longer taking place in April. The organization is working to reschedule the event for the fall.
The Met Gala, the annual star-studded fundraising event held the first Monday in May at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, has been postponed. This year’s theme is “About Time: Fashion and Duration” and celebrity hosts previously announced include Lin-Manuel Miranda, Meryl Streep and Emma Stone.
The Pasadena Showcase House of Design, which had been set for April 26-May 17, has moved its dates to June 7-28.
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The 2020 Billboard Music Awards, scheduled to air live on NBC from Las Vegas on April 29, has been postponed and will be rescheduled to air on NBC at a later date.
Netflix has postponed its inaugural Netflix Is a Joke Fest, a stand-up comedy festival that was scheduled to run April 27 to May 3 at more than 20 L.A. venues. Ticket holders were advised to await further instructions.
MIPTV 2020, a March 30-April 2 global content conference in Cannes, France, has been canceled. Related events that were scheduled to take place March 28-29 also have been nixed.
Saudi Arabia’s inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival has been postponed indefinitely. The event was scheduled to run March 12-21.
The 10th Beijing International Film Festival, originally scheduled for late April, has been postponed indefinitely. Organizers in Beijing said March 6 that new festival dates would be announced as soon as possible.
The Prague International Film Festival, a.k.a. Febiofest, has been postponed indefinitely, organizers said March 10. It had been set for March 19-27. The government in the Czech Republic has banned gatherings of 100-plus people.
Venice’s famed Carnival, which had been set to run Feb. 8-25, ended prematurely on Feb. 19.
FILMART 2020, the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market, now will be held Aug. 27-29 instead of the originally scheduled stretch in late March. It is the most significant film market in Asia.
With COVID-19 hitting hard in Washington state, Emerald City Comic Con organizers decided March 6 to move the March 12-15 event to the summer. Refunds will be issued and details about the rescheduled Seattle event are forthcoming.
The AFI Tribute to Julie Andrews, set for April 25, has been postponed until early summer, with a date to be announced later, the American Film Institute announced March 7. The air date on TNT will be rescheduled as well.
Spain’s 23rd Malaga Festival, the biggest festival dedicated to Spanish and Latin American film and TV, has been postponed from its planned March 13-22 dates. No new dates have been floated yet. Berlin has closed all state-run theaters, operas and concert halls from March 11 through April 19.
The Santa Barbara International Orchid Show will not be held as planned March 13-15. Organizers say ticket purchases will be refunded.
Pasadena Heritage has postponed March events, including its Spring Home Tour. It hopes to announce new dates in the coming weeks.
Glastonbury Festival 2020, set for June 24-28, has been canceled. Ticket deposits for what would have been a 50th anniversary event will roll over to next year, or refunds can be requested. Glastonbury usually attracts more than 200,000 people to Worthy Farm in Somerset, England.
The 2020 Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival, which had been set for June 11-14 in Manchester, Tenn., and typically draws 80,000 people, has been rescheduled to Sept. 24-27. Current tickets and on-site accommodation reservations for tent rentals, campers, RVs, etc. will be honored.
Movies
On March 16, AMC Theatres announced it would close its locations for six to 12 weeks and Regal Cinemas said it would close its movie theaters indefinitely. AMC, the nation’s largest movie theater chain, had already reduced seating capacity by 50% starting March 14 to allow for “social distancing.”
Disney announced March 13 that it would bring “Frozen 2” to its streaming service Disney+ three months earlier than planned.
Universal delayed the release of “F9,” the latest film in the “Fast and the Furious” franchise, by nearly a year. It’ll now hit theaters on April 2, 2021, instead of May 22.
The Disney/Fox/Searchlight release calendar is clear for March and April: “Mulan,” “The New Mutants” and “Antlers” have been postponed. No word yet on “Black Widow,” which is due out May 1.
The forthcoming release of “No Time to Die,” Daniel Craig’s final film in the James Bond franchise, has been postponed until November, according to MGM, Universal and Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. The movie, previously slated to debut in the U.S. on April 10, now will hit theaters Nov. 25.
China releases for Paramount’s “Sonic the Hedgehog,” Universal’s “1917,” Searchlight’s “Jojo Rabbit” and Universal’s “Dolittle” have been postponed indefinitely. Should precautions related to the outbreak persist, forthcoming titles including Pixar’s “Onward” and Sony Pictures’ “Bloodshot” could also be at risk.
Sony on March 10 postponed the release of “Peter Rabbit 2” until Aug. 7 in the U.S. and U.K. It had been set to premiere March 27 in the U.K. and Europe and April 3 in the U.S.
Production on Paramount’s latest “Mission: Impossible” project has been delayed. The action flick, starring Tom Cruise, was set to film on location in Italy, which has seen one of the largest outbreaks of coronavirus outside Asia. The seventh film in the franchise is scheduled to hit theaters in July 2021.
From the latest James Bond to “The Batman,” many high-profile films are rescheduling their release dates to mitigate the risk of contracting COVID-19 in movie theaters and other large gatherings. Here’s a working list of all the film releases affected by coronavirus.
The 2020 TCM Classic Film Festival was canceled March 12. Those who bought passes to the event, which was planned for April 16-19, can expect a full refund within 10 to 15 days. The festival will return next year.
American Cinematheque has canceled all programming at the Aero and Egyptian theaters as of March 13 “until further notice.”
The 19th Tribeca Film Festival, which was set for April 15-26 in New York City, has been postponed, organizers said March 12. While no further details were given, updates were promised at tribecafilm.com.
Almost all movie theaters in mainland China — accounting for 70,000 screens — have been shuttered.
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Italy on March 4 closed “all theaters and cinema” where a one-meter distance requirement between patrons cannot be accommodated. Iran and the Czech Republic also have full cinema shutdowns. Movie theaters in Poland were closed on March 11.
Lebanon and Kuwait also have closed theaters, among other measures. Individual states in India have been closing cinemas since March 10, while Korea, Japan, Hong Kong and northern France have partial closures.
Major movie studios in China, including Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis and Hengdian World Studios, have shut down operations. The Chinese government has put an indefinite halt on all film production in the country.
Théâtre Raymond Kabbaz in L.A. has canceled the 11th year of A Week of French-Language Cinema in Los Angeles, which was scheduled to happen March 18-22.
The 14th the Method Independent Film Festival has postponed its dates until late spring. It was scheduled for March 20-26 at the Fine Arts Theatre and the Lumiere Music Hall Theatre in Beverly Hills.
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles has postponed its event (April 1-5) to a later, undetermined date this year.
The Alex Theatre in Glendale has canceled events through April 5, including the Alex Film Society screening of “The Night of the Hunter” on March 19.
The outbreak has wiped out box office, hobbled productions and affected industry conferences. Estimating the long term effects is proving impossible.
Music
The L.A. Philharmonic announced March 12 that it would cancel all events at Walt Disney Concert Hall through March 31, in compliance with a state Department of Public Health directive limiting public gatherings.
BTS, Green Day, Khalid, New Order, Pentatonix, Stormzy, Mariah Carey, Avril Lavigne, Louis Tomlinson, a-ha, Santana, Madonna and Testament are among the many music acts that have called off or postponed tour dates and performances. Pussy Riot canceled its March 12 show in Santa Ana at the last minute, saying it hoped to reschedule for the fall.
Billie Eilish “with great sadness” had postponed 11 concerts between March 13 and March 28. Less than a week later, she canceled all remaining North American tour dates, including three Los Angeles shows on April 3-5. The “Where Do We Go” tour is being rescheduled, and tickets will be honored on the new dates.
The Rolling Stones on March 16 postponed their North American “No Filter” tour dates. Ticket holders were advised to be patient and await the rescheduled dates.
Saying on Twitter on March 10 that they “have no reason to believe that it will be under control in the coming weeks ahead,” Pearl Jam indefinitely postponed the North American leg of its Gigaton tour, which had included two mid-April dates at the Forum in Inglewood. “Again, here in Seattle what we are witnessing we would not wish for anyone.”
Elton John postponed 19 North American dates between March 26 and May 2 on his Farewell Yellow Brick Road tour. The May 22-July 8 performances remain as scheduled. No Southern California dates are affected.
From live-streamed living-room concerts to virtual reality-enabled superstar shows, you can still experience live music (online, anyway) during coronavirus pandemic.
The annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which was scheduled for April 26-30, will be moved to the fall. Though no new dates have been announced, current tickets will be honored.
The 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, set for March 29, has been postponed. Voting for the fan-fueled awards will continue only until the prior deadlines, with most contests closing March 23.
After the late pullout by Miley Cyrus on March 9, the World Tour Bushfire Relief benefit concert in Melbourne, Australia, was canceled. Lil Nas X, pop duo the Veronicas and DJ Seb Fontaine also were on the bill for the show, which was to have been March 13.
The 2020 Piatigorsky International Cello Festival, an event that happens every four years and was set this year for March 13-22, was canceled Tuesday by host USC.
The Philharmonic Society of Orange County canceled a Shanghai Chinese Orchestra concert in Costa Mesa last month, despite all of the musicians being in good health. A Chinese New Year celebration was scheduled to take place Feb. 5 at Segerstrom Center for the Arts.
The 18th Korea Times Music Festival, set to take place at the Hollywood Bowl on April 25, has been postponed “due to current travel restrictions in Asia,” organizers said. Ticket refunds are available.
The 22nd Ultra Music Festival, a massive Miami-based electronic music event, has been pushed back. The three-day concert, which draws 165,000 fans from across the globe, likely will be moved from this March to 2021.
Boston Court Pasadena has canceled a March 28 concert by jazz pianist Josh Nelson and hopes to eventually reschedule it.
Get the latest coronavirus updates from our staff in California and around the world.
The Tomorrowland Winter 2020 electronic-music festival, set to run March 14-21 at a ski resort in the French Alps, has been canceled by organizers after the French government banned all indoor gatherings of more than 5,000 people. Tomorrowland Summer 2020 in Belgium was still on the schedule for July.
Singer Ciara, who is pregnant, canceled a March 19 hometown concert set to open the Fort Hood USO in Killeen, Texas. The USO’s grand opening will now be held this summer. “My doctors have advised me to limit travel and large group gatherings,” she said in a statement.
Bret Michaels, who has Type 1 diabetes, canceled March 13-14 gigs on the ’80s Cruise, citing his higher risk of contracting the disease as well as problems with having enough insulin and other supplies on hand if he were to be quarantined on the ship.
The San Francisco Symphony canceled concerts through March 17 after San Francisco Mayor London N. Breed announced March 6 that the War Memorial Performing Arts Center venues would be closed for a two-week test period in an effort to slow spread of COVID-19. The symphony’s home, Davies Symphony Hall, is among the venues affected.
The Colburn School of music and dance in Downtown L.A. has suspended all in-person instruction, performances and events until April 13.
Pasadena Symphony and Pops has rescheduled its March 21 Mozart & McGegan concert to May 23. Tickets will be valid for the later show. Its April 18 performance of Rachmaninoff Piano Concerto No. 3 is currently scheduled to proceed as planned.
UCLA’s Center for the Art of Performance has suspended all shows through May, the end of its 2019-2020 season.
TV
“Stranger Things,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Riverdale” are among the many scripted series that have paused production. That includes a two-week pause on production by Netflix, among others.
The following late-night shows have suspended production through March 30: Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” and “Lights Out With David Spade,” NBC’s “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” and “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,” ABC’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and Bravo’s “Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen.”
L.A.-based shows “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Late Late Show With James Corden” and “The Talk” announced March 12 that they would be going sans live audiences starting March 16.
ABC’s “The View,” “Live With Kelly and Ryan,” “Good Morning America,” “Strahan, Sara and Keke” and “Tamron Hall” also entered the audience-free zone on March 11.
“The Ellen DeGeneres Show” decided March 13 that it would suspend production through March 30.
The coronavirus forced hosts Samantha Bee, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert to deliver monologues this week without a live studio audience. It was weird.
NBC on March 16 said that “Saturday Night Live,” which was scheduled to return from hiatus on March 28, will not resume production until further notice.
HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” and “Real Time With Bill Maher” will be on hiatus as of March 16 for an unspecified length of time.
In-person auditions for “So You Think You Can Dance” have been canceled in Los Angeles, New York City and Miami. Online submissions will be accepted through midnight March 22.
“Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune” announced plans March 10 to tape shows without a live studio audience. The move was made in part to protect host Alex Trebek, who has been battling Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. “The Dr. Phil Show” will tape without an audience for about two weeks, inviting audiences back March 23. Wendy Williams is also planning to tape her talk show sans live studio audience “until further notice.”
The 33rd season of the Emmy-winning TV show “The Amazing Race” has ceased filming indefinitely, and “all contestants and production staff are returning home,” according to a statement from CBS. No new production date has been set for the popular reality travel competition.
With a crew of more than 400 that flies in from 20 countries, “Survivor” has postponed the start of Season 41 production to May from March 24. That in turn is likely to affect Season 42 production, scheduled to start on May 24. At this point, air dates for both seasons are not expected to change.
Titles include “The Hunt” and “Invisible Man.” “Trolls World Tour” will be available simultaneously with theatrical.
The 16th season of ABC’s “The Bachelorette,” starring 38-year-old Clare Crawley, won’t shoot overseas this time around. Production may not even leave L.A., host Chris Harrison said.
Comcast’s FreeWheel and Fox News pulled out of their annual advertisers upfront presentations scheduled for March 12 and 24 in New York City. Fox Entertainment reportedly canceled program development presentations scheduled for New York, Chicago, Detroit and L.A. during the last week of March.
A+E Networks on March 9 announced that its upfronts planned for late March will be replaced by a virtual event set to begin March 23. Plans for 2021 on A&E, History and Lifetime will be presented. AMC Networks said March 9 that it will have “individual conversations” with advertisers in lieu of the upfront that had been set for March 18.
ViacomCBS and NBCUniversal have also nixed their upfront events and will stream their presentations instead.
Universal Television, CBS and Showtime were among the brands to announce halts on some TV productions in response to the coronavirus pandemic on Thursday.
Disney scrapped a two-day launch event for its new streaming platform, Disney+. The roll-out was set to take place on the Thursday and Friday leading up to the service’s March 24 European debut; it will be replaced by an executive press briefing via webcast.
Short-form streaming platform Quibi, which launches April 6, has canceled plans for an April 5 red-carpet launch event.
Theme parks
Disneyland Resort on March 12 announced the closure of Disneyland and California Adventure in Anaheim, effective March 14 through the end of the month. Downtown Disney, however, will remain open. Disney hotels will stay open through March 16 to allow guests time to make travel plans. Cast members — that’s Disney-speak for “employees” — will get paid during the shutdown.
Universal Studios Hollywood will close temporarily starting March 14 and said it “anticipates” reopening March 28. Universal CityWalk will remain open.
Disneyland, Disney California Adventure and Universal Studios will close starting Saturday in light of the state’s recommendation to limit mass gatherings.
Knott’s Berry Farm is shutting down from March 14 through the end of the month. Hotels will stay open.
Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and Disneyland Paris Resort will close until further notice at the end of the day March 15. The Disney Springs retail and dining complex in Orlando and Disney Village in Paris will remain open, along with the parks’ hotels.
Universal Orlando Resort in Florida will temporarily shut down at the close of business March 15. Universal Orlando’s hotels and the Universal CityWalk there will remain open.
Universal Studios Japan has closed from Feb. 29 through early April, with the reopening date subject to change depending on the coronavirus situation.
Disney’s themed resorts in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Tokyo have been shuttered until at least March 15. In a recent earnings call, the Mouse House estimated the closures would result in a roughly $175-million hit to operating income in its second fiscal quarter, should the parks remain shut for two months. On March 9, some restaurants and shops reopened at Shanghai Disneyland. On March 10, Tokyo Disneyland extended its closure into early April.
Coronavirus canceled individual productions or entire seasons (not to mention all of Broadway). Here’s how some are reopening on a digital stage.
Theater
Center Theatre Group is shutting down all three of its venues, canceling performances of “The Book of Mormon” at the Ahmanson Theatre and “The Antipodes” at the Mark Taper Forum, both in downtown L.A.; and “Block Party” performances at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City. The group is contacting ticket holders by email.
“Hamilton” at the Hollywood Pantages Theatre is suspended through March 31, effective immediately. Tickets will be refunded.
All performances on Broadway have been shut down through April 12, effective immediately, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced March 12. That’s in line with a state ban on gatherings of more than 500 people that will go into effect on March 13.
As of March 16, all theaters in London’s West End are closed until further notice.
South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa has canceled all performances of “Outside Mullingar,” starting March 13, but is working to make the show available online. The theater is moving its March 16 announcement of the 2020-21 season to Facebook, and the March 16 NewSCRipts reading has been postponed until further notice. SCR Theatre Conservatory classes are continuing.
Through the end of March, Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa is canceling performances of “A Bronx Tale,” “Beep,” “Rock, Paper, Scissors, !DAMAS!,” “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! The Musical,” “Dancing With the Stars Live!” “Broadway Legends: An All-Star Tribute to Harold Prince” and the Cécile McLorin Salvant and Aaron Diehl Trio. All free events in the Julianne and George Argyros Plaza are nixed through March 31, as are classes at the Center’s American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School and School of Dance and Music for Children With Disabilities.
Performances of Cirque du Soleil’s “Volta” in Costa Mesa are canceled. Shows were scheduled for March 18-April 19 at the Orange County Fair & Event Center.
All REDCAT performances are postponed through April 12. This decision coincides with CalArts, REDCAT’s parent institution, suspending all in-person classes, activities and performances on the CalArts campus.
La Mirada Theatre has rescheduled dates for “The Sound of Music” and “Mamma Mia,” which will now run May 15-June 7 and June 12-July 5, respectively. Other shows originally set for April 4 through June 27 are in the process of being rescheduled.
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The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills has canceled or postponed all productions, presentations, public gatherings and educational programs through March 31.
The Broad Stage in Santa Monica is suspending all performances through April 8.
A Noise Within in Pasadena is canceling the remaining performances of “The Winter’s Tale” and “Alice in Wonderland” as well as Noise Now performances and all other public events through the end of April. Tickets can be donated or used toward a future performance.
La Jolla Playhouse is canceling all performances and events through March 31, including its Annual Gala, in-school programs and all remaining performances of the musical “Fly.”
The Old Globe in San Diego has canceled all performances effective immediately. Two productions in rehearsal, “Little Women” and “Faceless,” are postponed until further notice. The Old Globe Classical Directing Fellowship set for the week of March 16 will be rescheduled for later this year and Department of Arts Engagement community programming will be temporarily suspended or conducted online.
The Soraya at Cal State Northridge has canceled all public activity through April 17. This includes all presented events, rental events and arts education activities. “Violins of Hope” with the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony is tentatively rescheduled for April 19.
The March 15 performance of “Rollin With My Homies” at Upright Citizens Brigade has been canceled.
The Groundlings Theatre has canceled all shows through the month of March.
The 2020 Helen Hayes Awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., has been moved to Aug. 24 from its original May 18 date.
The 76th annual Theatre World Awards ceremony in New York City has been postponed from its original June 1 date. A new fall date will be announced soon.
The 2020 Olivier Awards ceremony, scheduled for April 5 in London, has been canceled and tickets will be refunded. Organizers are working on plans to announce and honor this year’s winners,
As coronavirus fears grip Hollywood, film and television productions are on the front line.
Boston Court Pasadena has canceled all performances of the Stephen Sondheim musical “Passion” through March 31. On March 12, organizers said the show would return April 2 and they hoped to extend it for two weeks, through May 3.
East West Players in Little Tokyo has canceled the entire run of Sondheim’s “Assassins” and postponed its Theatre for Youth tour and 54th-anniversary Visionary Awards and Gala.
The Ojai Playwrights Conference is postponing its benefit celebration, “Imagining America,” which was scheduled for May 2 at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Culver City.
Books
The Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, which had been set for April at USC, has been postponed until Oct. 3-4. Honorees and winners of the L.A. Times Book Prizes will still be announced April 17. The Times also has canceled its book club event with authors Steph Cha and Joe Ide scheduled for March 30.
All L.A. County Public Library locations are closed until at least March 31. The Los Angeles Central Library and all 72 branch libraries are also closed. Patrons with a library card can access materials online. Due dates on borrowed materials have been extended and no fines will be assessed.
The L.A. Art Book Fair, which was set for April 3-5 and typically draws more than 30,000 each year to the Museum of Contemporary Art’s Geffen Contemporary in downtown Los Angeles, was canceled March 11.
Bookstores in L.A. are changing the way they sell amid coronavirus concerns. Most have closed but are offering curbside pickup and home delivery to customers.
PEN America has canceled its 2020 PEN World Voices Festival, which had been scheduled for May 4-9 in venues across New York City. It will launch a new podcast soon to convey the “words, ideas, and artistry” of the novelists, poets, essayists, translators and journalists who were to appear.
The London Book Fair 2020, which was scheduled for March 10-12, has been nixed. Around 25,000 publishers, authors and agents were expected at one of the world’s biggest international literary events.
Daisy Ridley, Auli’i Cravalho and more Disney stars are among the latest celebrities reading children’s books on social media to entertain quarantined families.
The 2020 Livre Paris Book Fair, which attracts 160,000 annually and was scheduled for March 20-23, has been canceled in accordance with France’s new indoor-gatherings policy.
The Bologna Children’s Book Fair, which had been set for March 30-April 2, has been moved to May 4-7. The event in Bologna, Italy, typically draws 1,400 exhibitors and 30,000 professional visitors.
Amid more than 100 author cancellations and facing uncertainty about volunteer turnout, the Tucson Festival of Books announced March 9 that it is nixing the event scheduled for March 14-15 on the University of Arizona campus. The festival is expected to return in 2021.
The National Book Critics Circle has canceled its finalists reading on March 11 and awards ceremony March 12. Winners will be notified via email, with announcements made via press release and on social media. The gala will be rescheduled for fall.
Museums
The Getty Center and Getty Villa are closing to the public as of March 14, with a reopen date to be determined. It had previously canceled all events and programs through the end of May, and nixed school visits and group tours. The work of the Getty Museum, Getty Conservation Institute, Getty Research Institute and Getty Foundation will continue.
MOCA temporarily closed its Grand Avenue galleries and Warehouse at the Geffen Contemporary at MOCA to the public beginning March 13.
The Broad in Downtown L.A. is temporarily closed until March 31.
The Hammer Museum closed its doors March 14 until further notice.
The Huntington Library, Art Museum and Botanical Gardens has canceled all public events through May 31. However, library exhibition halls, art galleries and botanical gardens remain open for now.
Descanso Gardens in La Cañada Flintridge is open but operating as an outdoor-only venue until further notice. Boddy House and the Sturt Haaga Gallery will be closed through April. All indoor programming and events are canceled or will be reimagined as outdoor events.
At the California African American Museum in Exposition Park, all public programs, rentals and group tours have been canceled or postponed until further notice. As of March 14, galleries remain open during regular hours.
Zócalo Public Square‘s next program, “How Does Music Change Your Brain?,” is a streaming, online-only event March 19.
All Smithsonian Institution museums in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and New York City, including the National Zoo, will temporarily close to the public starting March 14.
In New York City, the Museum of Modern Art, MoMA PS1 and the MoMA Design Stores on 53rd Street and in Soho are all closed through March 30. MoMA has also postponed all museum events.
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island off Manhattan shut down operations on March 16.
The Louvre in Paris shut down indefinitely on March 13 along with France’s Eiffel Tower and the Palace of Versailles.
The National Museum of Korea and the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in South Korea, Beijing’s Palace Museum in the Forbidden City and Japan’s Mori Art Museum, National Museum of Modern Art and Kyoto National Museum are among closures in Asia.
Opera
L.A. Opera canceled the March 14 performance of “Roberto Devereux,” giving two days’ notice.
The Long Beach Opera will not perform “The Lighthouse” on the planned dates the last two weekends of March. It says it is working on contingency plans that would allow the performances to be postponed rather than canceled.
The Industry has canceled performances of its site-specific opera “Sweet Land.” It will be available via video on demand on the company’s website, possibly by March 20.
San Diego Opera has nixed March 13-14 performances of “Aging Magician” at the Balboa Theatre, citing possible travel restrictions for 25-plus youth choral performers coming from Brooklyn. “The Barber of Seville” and “The Falling and the Rising” are still on the calendar for April and May.
The Royal Opera House in London announced March 16 that it was closing the building to the public and canceling all performances.
Performances at La Scala in Milan have been suspended through April 3.
New York’s Metropolitan Opera on Tuesday mandated a 14-day self-imposed pre-show quarantine for all performers and staff traveling to New York City from China, Iran, South Korea, Japan, Italy and Hong Kong.
The Bavarian State Opera in Munich has canceled all performances from March 11 through April 19.
Dance
ABC has postponed the remainder of the “Dancing With the Stars: Live!” 2020 tour. Tickets for March 13-April 7 shows will be honored on the rescheduled dates once they are announced.
Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at the Music Center has canceled all performances through March 31, including the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater shows set for March 18–22.
In-person auditions for “So You Think You Can Dance” have been canceled in Los Angeles, New York City and Miami. Online submissions can still be submitted through midnight March 22.
This list will be updated as more closures, cancellations and postponements are announced.
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