THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
July 16, 2020 at 17:50 JST
A coronavirus cluster outbreak at Theater Moliere has prompted it to temporarily close. The photo was taken in Tokyo’s Shinjuku district on July 13. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)
Fifty-nine people linked to a cluster outbreak at a theater in Tokyo’s busy Shinjuku district have tested positive for the new coronavirus.
Rise Communication Co., which hosted the show starring boy band members at Theater Moliere, announced the new figure of confirmed cases on its website in the evening on July 15.
It includes 17 cast members, 8 staff and 34 audience members.
The show, titled “The Jinro,” ran from June 30 to July 5.
Cast member Yusuke Yamamoto, film critic Kon Arimura--who was involved in the show’s planning--and his wife, Izumi Maruoka, an announcer, had all tested positive.
The 800 or so audience members are all considered to have been in close contact with carriers of the coronavirus.
The cluster outbreak has reverberated across Tokyo’s theater scene.
A show titled “Sunflower,” originally scheduled to be held at Woody Theater Nakameguro in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward from July 14 through July 19, was canceled.
According to the show’s host, Free(s), it was canceled to prevent the coronavirus from spreading because two of the male actors in the show went to watch a performance of “The Jinro.”
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