Broadway in Cincinnati received backlash on social media after the theater company had to cancel a showing of Frozen due to an outbreak of COVID-19 cases.
The company wrote on Facebook at 8:07 p.m. Saturday night that it would be canceling the 8 p.m. showing of Frozen, saying, “We received this news at 7 p.m. this evening and sincerely apologize for the late notice and disappointment this news must bring.”
The post went on to say that all tickets were being refunded and the next scheduled showing on Sunday afternoon would continue as normal.
Many patrons were upset by this last-minute cancellation and took to the comments section on Broadway in Cincinnati's Facebook post to share their grievances.
"First, our thoughts go out to the cast and crew and we hope everyone recovers well. The frustration is with Broadway in Cincinnati and that they/Aronoff should have handled this much better. We got in line at 7:15 outside the theater and there was a long line that stretched down the street (line was full of Annas and Elsas). Around 7:35 we found out from others leaving that it was cancelled. We thought that was a hoax at first. Kids all around crying (including our 5 year old who has been looking forward to this for months). No one from Aronoff walked down the line and let people know though, no emails from Broadway in Cincinnati and not even anything posted on Facebook until more than 15 minutes after showtime," wrote Joseph Wells.
Broadway in Cincinnati responded in the comments, apologizing to Wells for not personally notifying him and stating that crew members tried to notify everyone waiting in person as soon as they knew of the cancelation.
“Broadway in Cincinnati, you can do better! To send your staff outside just prior to the show to send children away crying and couldn’t even buy a souvenir. No advanced notice, no email notification? I have been a season ticket holder since 2006. Until tonight," wrote Angela Morrow.
The company responded to Morrow, writing that they wished they would have been able to provide more information sooner, stating again that they did not receive notice of the cases until right before the show.
Some commenters stood up for Broadway in Cincinnati, like Taylor Clemons who wrote, “It’s obvious patrons don’t get how the business works. The safety of the cast should come first. Todays matinee went on as planned because there were no positive tests, between the matinee ending and the evening show starting, positive tests came back. It’s not rocket science and everyone will get their refunds eventually. It’s a letdown but this is the world we live in now.”
According to Broadway in Cincinnati, Sunday’s 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. showings of Frozen went on as planned, but some commenters are still upset about the cancelation while others say they should just “let it go, let it go."
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