Hurricane Irene Scuttles Dave Matthews Band, Atlantic City Concerts

UPDATE: Disney’s Broadway shows “The Lion King” and “Mary Poppins” have also been canceled

Hurricane Irene is expected to begin bombarding the East Coast on Saturday, and the region's entertainment industry is on high alert.

The ominous weather predictions have already caused the postponement of two Dave Matthews Band concerts in New York City, and Atlantic City is set to close all eleven of its casinos Friday in advance of the looming storm.

A Dave Matthews Band representative posted on the group's official website that ticketholders for Saturday and Sunday's Caravan shows on Governors Island would be welcome to attend Friday's concert instead, or could wait for a rain date for the two scuttled shows to be announced.

Guitar god B.B. King has also canceled his Rib Rock Festival shows around the New York region this weekend.

Meanwhile, casino officials in Atlantic City, along the New Jersey shoreline expected to be hit hardest by the hurricane, had no choice but to shut down their gambling establishments after a mandatory evacuation of the resort community began at 6 a.m. Friday. Many concerts and activities have been postponed or canceled accordingly, including three Frankie Valli shows, one Donny Osmond performance and a Lynyrd Skynyrd jam at the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa, and a "Price Is Right" contestant search that had been scheduled to be held at Trump Taj Majal on Friday afternoon.

This will be only the third time in the 33-year history of legalized gambling in New Jersey that Atlantic City gambling venues will be closed.

For now, the majority of Broadway shows plan to run on their normal schedules this weekend, even though Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city's mass transit will be halted for the weekend starting Saturday afternoon.

“All Broadway shows in NYC for the coming weekend are playing as scheduled," reads a statement on the official website of the Broadway Theatre Industry. "For questions about exchange or refund policies, please contact your point of purchase. We will update this page with any additional information we receive.”

UPDATE: On Friday afternoon, Disney Theatrical Productions announced that the Saturday and Sunday performances of "The Lion King" and "Mary Poppins" have been canceled.

Also, CBS has canceled a press screening of its upcoming special "9/11: 10 Years Later" that had been set for Tuesday.

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