NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess) Broadway performances of “Jersey Boys,” “Avenue Q” and others are under way again after manhole fires resulted in the evacuation of the New World Stages performing arts center in New York Saturday evening.
New World Stages, a five-theatre PAC in New York’s Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood, was evacuated as patrons heard “a big boom” and fire shot from a manhole cover outside the venue, according to video posted online.
(Columbus Circle, Manhattan) Heavy Manhole Fire — Police are blocking off traffic on W 50th St from 8th Ave to 9th Ave. Expect travel delays. Updates and more video here: https://t.co/PBN56ldceS pic.twitter.com/hYC7aeC6G1
— Citizen NYC (@CitizenApp_NYC) February 17, 2019
“As we were entering the building, there was a big boom,” one patron said on Facebook. “No idea what it was, but they kept letting people in. Right when the show was supposed to start, they announced they had to evacuate the theater. So now we’re outside with the other 4 shows that are performed in the same theater.”
Michael Coco, a representative for Shubert Organization, the company that runs New World Stages, told the Associated Press three windows cracked near the manhole blast and were being replaced today. No injuries were reported. Performances of “The Play That Goes Wrong,” “Puffs” and “A Spirited History of Drinking” were also canceled.
Utility Consolidated Edison said it has no determined the cause of the fire.
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