SALT LAKE CITY — The Hale Centre Theatre has canceled three consecutive productions of “Mary Poppins,” scheduled for July 13, 14 and 15.
The theater announced the latest cancellation Wednesday afternoon on its Facebook page.
“One of our featured actors is out of town. Their double is taking care of a sick family member, and as a precaution and in accordance with our safety plan, they are unable to perform,” the theater posted on its Facebook page Tuesday afternoon.
The post did not indicate if additional productions of “Mary Poppins” will be canceled.
The cancellations come on the heels of a “Mary Poppins” cast member receiving a COVID-19 diagnosis, the Deseret News reported. The theater, which reopened on June 26 with the Steve Martin/Edie Brickell musical “Bright Star,” began its production of “Mary Poppins” on July 1.
The actor was last in the building on July 2, and started experiencing symptoms on July 6. The cast member believes they contracted COVID-19 from a family member who tested positive on July 7.
The Hale Centre Theatre recently posted a comment on its Facebook page that said based on discussions with the Salt Lake County Health Department concern for exposure exists within 48 hours of symptoms.
The actor hadn’t entered the Hale Centre Theatre building since July 2, so the Salt Lake County Health Department determined that “no contact tracing was necessary,” according to Mark Dietlein, the theater’s president and CEO.
“There has not been any impact on the theatre or anyone working there,” Dietlein wrote in an email to the Deseret News. “The actor has been at home recovering with ‘mild flu-like symptoms.’”
“HCT has and continues to work closely with the state and county health department,” Dietlein continued. “We follow their guidelines completely. By doing so, this situation has been handled appropriately. The county health department carefully reviewed our safety guide as well as the theatre building prior to reopening and has reaffirmed to us as recently as last Friday that there is no need to change anything in our COVID-19 Safety Guide.”