Omicron Threatens NYC New Year's Eve As Broadway, Rockettes Close

MIDTOWN MANHATTAN, NY — After an emptied-out 2020, hopes were on the rise that this year's holiday season in Midtown might look a bit more normal, as tourists returned and major industries reopened.

The arrival of the highly contagious omicron variant has largely scuttled those hopes, already wiping out one cherished tradition and endangering several others.

The biggest casualty so far has been the Radio City Rockettes, who on Friday said they were forced to cancel the remaining shows in their annual Christmas Spectacular due to "increasing challenges from the pandemic."

"We have loved bringing back this cherished tradition that helps usher in the holiday season in New York City and look forward to welcoming fans back to Radio City Music Hall in 2022," the dance troupe said in a statement.

Meanwhile, several Broadway shows have canceled individual performances due to virus outbreaks among cast and crew members, from high-profile attractions such as "Hamilton" and "Harry Potter and the Cursed Child" to new arrivals such as "Skeleton Crew," which was forced to delay its first preview performances.

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— Rockettes (@Rockettes) December 17, 2021

No comprehensive action has been taken across Broadway's 41 theaters — a last-resort move that would be sure to demoralize an industry still reeling from an 18-month shutdown that only ended this fall.

Then there's New Year's Eve in Times Square. Mayor Bill de Blasio reiterated Monday that the city was closely watching the progression of omicron as it decides whether to move forward with plans to allow thousands of people to ring in 2022 on Dec. 31.

"But we are looking at that again now in light of Omicron," the mayor said Monday, pledging a final decision before Christmas.

New York state confirmed a record 22,478 cases of COVID-19 on Sunday — the third consecutive day it broke its all-time record for a single day's worth of cases (though testing was limited in the early days of the pandemic).

Despite the alarming surge in cases, the city's hospitals are not yet being overwhelmed by patients, giving rise to some cautious optimism that this variant could cause less severe illness.