Eugene O’Neil Theatre on fire!! — Page 5

kdogg36 said: "TheatreFan4 said: "What exactly is there to be transparent about? There's been a fire and until their Insurance says they can do differently, it's two days of canceled performances. Likely to be many more long term. I'm not exactly sure what kind of word they can give at this juncture barely 24 hours after the fire when there's not been a thorough inspection."

If you or I were out of a job because of a fire at our place of work, we'd expect our boss to be communicating with us at least daily about the situation. The question isn't about what they're announcing to the public, but how well they're keeping employees informed about what they know."



Which is nothing. Should they be sending them pictures and cost estimates? The staff and actors know what everybody knows, no shows through tomorrow at least. The more messy information you give out to staff creates more games of telephone about what exactly happened and what gets out to press. Until there is actually a game plan, there is literally nothing more to share that will help the cast and staff that won't in someway get blasted back at the production.

Flat out, you can't share what you don't know.

I also feel it's a little bit of a making situation about yourself, when it's far bigger than you the individual. Like... you got the information, didn't you? Is that less personal than an email/text blast with a generic statement going out to a couple hundred people? I understand it being tacky hearing about a closing from the Press, but this? I mean... kind of get over yourself if you're being huffy right now.

With so many options for "instant" communication, it's (unfortunately, IMO) become expected that everyone has a "right", or is deserved of all info, all the time.

That just isn't true. There are many possible reasons why information needs to remain contained, or on a need to know basis - not excluding the fact that some info is just simply unknown.

If the level of communications should be faulted in any way, IMO, it's that there appears to be no established, centralized point of contact referenced in the communication (e.g., for additional info call (###) ###-####, or see www.fireinfo.com for updates).

Updated On: 5/6/26 at 09:03 AM

Have these cast members claiming they’re finding out about their job on instagram stopped to double check their spam folder?

I don't think that performances are resuming any time soon.

Scott Rudin is gonna take that insurance money and run. This is the end of The Book of Mormon, I think.

blaxx said: "Full Vacate means they need everything out?"

Most likely. With the damage incurred, it’s likely that people cannot occupy the building safely while repairs are assessed and completed, let alone perform.

This begs the next question - is the show going to go on hiatus or will another theatre host BoM until repairs are done? The earliest likeliest vacancy for an ATG theatre is the August Wilson in July.

“Full vacate” means it’s not inhabitable by people, not that they need to fully clear it. Since it sounds like the damage was to the electrical infrastructure on the opposite end of the building from the stage, they’ll need to start emergency repairs ASAP and then have the Department of Buildings re-assess it. From there, they essentially need to fully re-tech the show before opening.

Given the deep pocket reserves of the producers, I can see them doing everything in their power to reopen at the O’Neill and using their insurance to keep the cast and crew afloat and on retainer. But we shall see!

Updated On: 5/6/26 at 01:07 PM

quizking101 said: "blaxx said: "Full Vacate means they need everything out?"

Most likely. With the damage incurred, it’s likely that people cannot occupy the building safely while repairs are assessed and completed, let alone perform.

This begs the next question - is the show going to go on hiatus or will another theatre host BoM until repairs are done? The earliest likeliest vacancy for an ATG theatre is the August Wilson in July."


this begs the next next question

why do u ppl think it is this simple to move a show

no other theatre is going to ‘host’ book of mormon

the sheer scale of equipment involved

is daunting to even think about

with some of it likely fire and water damaged

and there will be no replacement concert version

who is going to pay full price for that indefinitely

ppl come for the complete Broadway experience

its a good thing most of u dont work in the biz

because these are pie in the sky ideas

Call_me_jorge said: "TotallyEffed said: "Scott Rudin is gonna take that insurance money and run. This is the end of The Book of Mormon, I think."

Does he still have a financial stake in the show? I was under the impression he was bought out. He’s not a credited producer anymore."



You're probably right. I was just reminded of how ruthless he was with the closing of Shuffle Along.

I dont see this moving even if it were permanent. I'd imagine they legally could not take out any of the set from the theatre while they're doing work. I don't think there's a set even that's not being used they could just move in. So it's either wait it out or close.

TheatreFan4 said: "I dont see this moving even if it were permanent. I'd imagine they legally could not take out any of the set from the theatre while they're doing work. I don't think there's a set eventhat's not being used they could just move in. So it's either wait it out or close."

I still say what I said before – y’all are in crazytown if you think the show closes like this. It’s very possible- especially depending on what kind of insurance they have- that the show comes out of this in a stronger position financially than they were before the fire. (And that’s assuming that no one is found liable to sue for damages.)

Obviously insurance takes a while to pay out, and most other shows wouldn’t be fortunate enough to be in this position. But someone wrote the obituary saying something like “since we can assume the show has played its last performance, it will be the 10th longest running show ever.”

By comparison if there was a fire at the Shubert in 1980, when A Chorus Line became the 10th longest running show, do you think Joseph Papp would have closed it? If there was a fire at the Majestic in 1995 - when Phantom became the 10th longest running show ever- do you think Cameron Mackintosh would have shut it down? What matters is not whether Trey Parker “needs the money” or if Scott Rudin wants to “cut a check and run” - what matters is whether the team in place managing the show want it to end like this (my guess is not), have the resources to weather the storm (my guess is so), and think reopening is worth it (I’ve said this before but my guess is that the show will come back as strong as ever; absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that).

The real point of comparison isn’t some other show that was teetering on the brink and lost a few weeks of income; it’s the pandemic. Shows that couldn’t make the numbers work to resume went away (Mean Girls, West Side Story) and shows that thought it was worth it came back (including shows that had barely opened, like Girl from the North Country, and crucially to this point, all of the long-running hits.)

From the one picture, it does not look like the damage to the auditorium itself is too bad. Issue is likely replacing a bunch of electrical equipment (some of which may be older and not made any more, requiring some time to determine the best replacements) and determining what, if any, structural damage occurred. In the end, the appropriate city departments will be the ones making the call about when performances are permitted to continue.

Yes, we all keep speculating but you'd think by now we'd have heard more. People are holding tickets to upcoming performances. Not all Broadway audience members live in NYC and need to plan accordingly.