Broadway shutdown extended until at least Labor Day

NEW YORK » The shutdown on Broadway has been extended again — until at least early September.

Although an exact date for performances to resume has yet to be determined, Broadway producers are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for shows through Sept. 6.

“While all Broadway shows would love to resume performances as soon as possible, we need to ensure the health and well-being of everyone who comes to the theater — behind the curtain and in front of it — before shows can return,” said Charlotte St. Martin, president of the Broadway League, which represents producers.

Broadway theaters abruptly closed on March 12, knocking out all shows — including 16 that were still scheduled to open — and postponing indefinitely the Tony Award schedule. Producers, citing health and city authorities, previously extended the shutdown to

‘60 Minutes’ wins ratings, Trump’s attention

NEW YORK » “60 Minutes” managed to win the week’s ratings competition and attract the attention of President Donald Trump on the same week.

With 9.5 million viewers Sunday, “60 Minutes” was easily the week’s most-watched prime-time program, the Nielsen company said. The newsmagazine has been dominated by stories on the coronavirus pandemic the past two months. Its audience this past weekend was 22% larger than the same week a year ago.

Correspondent Scott Pelley’s lead story was about a virologist whose federal funding to study the disease’s origins was suddenly cut in what the show concluded was a deceptive political campaign to tie the project to a lab in Wuhan, China.

Trump, in a tweet, accused “60 Minutes” of doing everything within its power “to defend China and the horrible pandemic that was inflicted” on the United States and rest of the world.