Broadway shows go on despite Times Square car bomb

The shows did go on.

Despite earlier reports of canceled performances, Broadway shows went on Saturday night and Sunday after the aborted car bomb attempt on Saturday evening.

"The Lion King," which was closest to the sport utility vehicle that contained what authorities say was a bomb, held the 8 p.m. curtain until 8:50 p.m., but a representative from Disney said that show and "Mary Poppins" went on as usual.

Charlotte St. Martin, executive director of the producers' Broadway League, said in a statement "There were no evacuations from Broadway theater. Due to police activity that closed a few streets in Times Square, there were some late curtains, but all shows did go on."

The Nissan Pathfinder SUV was parked on 45th Street between Seventh and Eighth avenues, outside the box office for the sold-out "Lion King" and just east of the area known as Shubert Alley, which connects the busy theater hubs of 45th and 44th streets.

Affected, but not disrupted, on 45th Street were "Billy Elliot," "God of Carnage," "Lend Me a Tenor," "Next to Normal, "Red" and "A Behanding in Spokane," where theatergoers were invited to move up into seats unused by people evacuated from the area or held up in delays.

Although producers declined to provide audience statistics, shows affected on 44th Street were "The Phantom of the Opera," "Next Fall," "Memphis," "Enron" and "American Idiot." "Come Fly With Me," the dance-driven Sinatra musical by Twyla Tharp playing in the Marquis Theatre inside the Marriott Marquis Hotel, began late but was not otherwise affected.

Once the shows finished, detectives took the stages and asked if anyone in the audience had seen anything suspicious, NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said. No one said they saw anything, Browne said.

Theatergoers at several theaters were delayed after the final curtain, then instructed to exit through the stage doors toward Eighth Avenue and away from Times Square. The Broadway League and Disney has assured ticketholders that exchanges or refunds will be available at point of purchase.