‘Groundhog Day’ star Andy Karl injured during preview

Andy Karl, the star of the new musical “Groundhog Day,” injured his knee toward the end of Friday’s performance, which may have jeopardized Monday’s opening of the much-anticipated show.

The show, which has been in final previews watched by theater critics since Thursday, has canceled the Saturday afternoon performance, and understudy Andrew Call will play the role Saturday evening. Refunds and exchanges are available at point of purchase. The show, at the August Wilson Theatre, doesn’t run on Sundays.

Karl and the musical both won Olivier Awards (London’s Tony) last weekend. Karl plays Phil Connors, the TV weather forecaster modeled on Bill Murray in the 1993 movie who is forced to keep repeating the same day, over and over.

In a statement, a spokesman for the show said, “At approximately 10:30 Friday, in the second act of ‘Groundhog Day,’ during the song ‘Philanthropy,’ Andy Karl injured himself during the performance and left the stage. The show was stopped. Andy insisted on finishing the show and after a 15 minute break, went onstage with a cane. Following the performance, Andy was taken to the doctor.”

In an Instagram post early Saturday, Karl said, “I am home now and I have no broken bones but tweaked my knee after a poorly landed leap frog. I am gonna get it looked at by a specialist before I go back on stage.”

These are crucial days on the Broadway calendar, with nine more shows still opening to beat the April 27 cutoff for Tony eligibility.

At Thursday’s media preview, a mechanical problem with an elaborately moving part of the set also stopped the show for about 15 minutes.

A spokesman said Saturday that further information about the schedule will follow.