Long running musical stopped as half of cast test positive for coronavirus

Musical Soldaat van Oranje was stopped this week after about half of the cast tested positive for Covid-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

About 15 people in total tested positive for the virus and the show has therefore been canceled until October 4, a spokesperson for the musical confirmed to NU.nl on Wednesday.

Soldaat van Oranje is the most successful theater performance in Dutch history. It premiered in October 2010 and has drawn crowds continually since. The musical, an adaption of the life story of resistance fighter Erik Hazelhoff, has been performed nearly 3 thousand times and sold over 3 million tickets.

Soldaat van Oranje was also stopped in early March when restrictions were first implemented to curb the spread of the coronavirus. It was performed again six months later, in early September. At the time, producer Fred Boot said that he was happy that his team could get back to work, though with 300 instead of 1,100 people allowed in the theater, it was not exactly profitable.