Monster Northeast Blizzard Wreaks Havoc on Entertainment Industry

From Broadway to the ACM Awards, organizers are scrambling to shuffle planned events because of the storm

NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 26: A plow is driven through Times Square on January 26, 2015 in New York City. New York, and much of the Northeast, is bracing for a major winter storm which is expected to bring blizzard conditions and 10 to 30 inches of snow to the area. (Photo by Alex Trautwig/Getty Images)
A snow plow is driven through Times Square (Getty Images)
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As a crippling winter storm barreled into the Northeast Monday, millions of people braced for the worst including members of the entertainment industry.

The Academy of Country Music Awards announced its nominations for the 50th ACM Awards would be postponed “due to unforeseen weather circumstances on the East Coast,” the academy said in a statement. The group had planned to make the announcements Tuesday but will now release a list of nominees later this week.

Broadway also prepared for the blizzard. The Broadway League announced theaters would go dark Monday “as a result of the travel restrictions put in place by government.” There was no immediate word on whether The Great White Way would reopen Tuesday or stay closed until conditions improve.

The storm forced the Metropolitan Opera to cancel Monday night’s planned performances, and the NBA postponed the New York Knicks’ and Brooklyn Nets’ home games scheduled for Monday night.

Comedian Louis CK, who recently added a record breaking fourth show at Madison Square Garden for Tuesday, will have to break the record another time after postponing the show.

Late Show With David Letterman Blizzard Cam (CBS)
Credit: Late Show With David Letterman, CBS

Several music artists have also postponed scheduled concerts in the New York City area. R&B star Ne-Yo, Motion City Soundtrack, Less Than Jake, and Reel Big Fish all postponed Tuesday night performances, according to Billboard.

Meanwhile Marilyn Manson, Action Bronson, Zola Jesus and The Lone Bellow canceled Monday night shows.

The cable news networks provided extensive coverage as the storm closed in, and “Today” weatherman Al Roker planned to bring back his patented “Rokerthon” by hosting continuous blizzard coverage on NBCnews.com.

Airlines reacted by cancelling more than 7,000 flights through Wednesday. Nearly every big carrier announced plans to waive change fees for customers scheduled to fly into airports in the storm’s path.

Travel bans were also put in place in the half-dozen states affected by the weather, including New Jersey.

“We want to get individuals home and off the roads as soon as possible,” the state’s Gov. Chris Christie said during a news conference. “This is a different kind of storm than we’ve had before, and it’s going to affect our state in different ways.”

Connecticut Gov. Dannel Malloy also ordered drivers off the roads starting at 9 p.m. Monday. Meanwhile, subway and bus service was suspended in New York City and Mayor Bill de Blasio declared a state of emergency — banning all non-emergency traffic on the roads.

The hardest hit areas, from New York City to Boston, could get a total of more than two feet of snow.

Lia Haberman contributed to this report.

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