After Hugh Jackman tests positive for COVID-19, Broadway’s ‘Music Man’ hits pause

Hugh Jackman has COVID-19, he announced Tuesday on social media. The actor was fully vaccinated and got his booster shot at the beginning of December.

“I just wanted you to hear from me that I tested positive this morning for COVID,” said the star of Broadway’s “The Music Man,” who was wearing a loose-fitting black mask in the brief video. “My symptoms are like a cold. I have a scratchy throat and a bit of a runny nose, but I’m fine.”

The mask slipped more than once in the video, revealing puffy bags under the 53-year-old performer’s eyes.

Jackman said he was going to do all he could to “get better, ASAP.” He said he’d be back on stage and “heading to River City” as soon as he was cleared to do so.

Meanwhile, after announcing the cancellation of all shows through Saturday, “The Music Man” company tweeted that Jackman would be back onstage Jan. 6.

Various Broadway productions — including “Hamilton,” “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child,” “Tina,” “Ain’t Too Proud,” “Free Style Love Supreme” and “Mrs. Doubtfire” — have been forced to shutter temporarily in recent weeks due to COVID-19 cases among cast and crew. “Jagged Little Pill,” “Waitress” and “Thoughts of a Colored Man” were among the shows that closed for good.

Productions have been canceled in SoCal as well at venues including the Pantages, the Broad and South Coast Rep, to name a few. The Music Center announced that it would require booster-eligible patrons to show proof of the extra jab to gain entry starting the third week of January. Public New Year’s Eve celebrations are among the fallen too.

In the past week, New York City has seen an average of 20,743 confirmed and probable new cases daily, according to the city’s health website, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus sweeps through the U.S. from the East Coast.

Over the last week, the state of California reported an average of 11,914 new coronavirus cases per day, a 73% jump from two weeks ago, according to data compiled by the Los Angeles Times. On Sunday, more than 4,000 people in the state were hospitalized with the virus, nearly a 14% increase from the week prior.