Watch Broadway Casts Deliver Impromptu Street Gigs During New York Blackout

A power outage affected a vast portion of Manhattan Saturday night, causing nearly all of the evening’s Broadway shows to cancel their performances. However, the cast of some of the musicals ensured theatergoers’ plans weren’t completely ruined by the blackout by providing impromptu street performances outside their respective theaters.

The casts of the Tony Award for Best Musical-winning Hadestown, Waitress and Come From Away were among those to greet the dispersing audiences on the Great White Way and perform stripped-down renditions of their musical’s songs.

When the NYC #blackout hit the Walter Kerr tonight, André and the company had to take this party to the streets! (🎥: @misskimizzo) #Hadestown #Broadway pic.twitter.com/oZTW3gaimm

— Hadestown (@hadestown) July 14, 2019

In the case of Hadestown, cast members, led by Tony winner Andre De Shields, improvised a song about the blackout before performing the musical’s “Road to Hell.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94b3LkaHCYQ

However, the biggest blackout crowd gathered outside Carnegie Hall, where the Millennial Choirs and Orchestra held an impromptu performance outside the historic venue after their concert was canceled by the blackout:

Additionally, Jennifer Lopez’s sold-out concert at Madison Square Garden was cut short by the power outage; the singer has rescheduled the gig for Monday, July 15th.