Hugh Jackman has announced that he has tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak hit the Broadway production he’s currently starring in.
“Just wanted you to hear it from me,” the Aussie performer announced on his social media platforms earlier today.
“Mild symptoms and as soon as I’m cleared … looking forward to getting back to The Winter Garden!”
Check out his video to fans below.
Just wanted you to hear it from me. I tested positive for covid. Mild symptoms and as soon as I’m cleared … looking forward to getting back to The Winter Garden! @MusicManBway pic.twitter.com/q1oEAzXX02
— Hugh Jackman (@RealHughJackman) December 28, 2021
In the video, the star is shown to be wearing a black face mask and giving his message against a white wall as he reassures fans that he feels okay.
“Hey, good morning. So I just wanted you to hear it from me that I tested positive this morning for COVID.”
Jackman described his symptoms as cold-like, stating that he currently has a runny nose and scratchy throat, and has assured fans that his symptoms are very mild.
The 53-year-old star began starring in The Music Man on Broadway shortly before Christmas but days later his co-star Sutton Foster tested positive for COVID.
With its second lead now positive and in isolation, the production has been forced to cancel all performances until New Year’s Day with Hugh Jackman out of the production until at least January 6.
New York City is currently in the middle of a widespread Omicron surge, and Jackman and Foster are just two of many who have been impacted by the new strain of COVID-19.
Jackman lost his father earlier this year on Father’s Day, with the father of the Broadway star passing away “peacefully in his sleep” in September.
On December 23 during a production of The Music Man, Jackman thanked understudy Kathy Voytko after Sutton Foster tested positive for COVID. Voytko was told at noon that day that she would be rehearsing for the lead role at 1pm.
He then proceeded to invite all other swings to the stage, thanking them for being the backbone of the production.
A swing is a performer who learns multiple roles in a Broadway production and is able to play any of these roles at a short notice, and have become increasingly popular in the midst of a global pandemic, when other performers may need to isolate and become unavailable on such short notice.
Check out this video of Hugh Jackman thanking the understudies and swings of his production The Music Man here.
