Hurricane Irene forces Broadway to wrestle with closings

(CBS/AP) NEW YORK - As New York City prepares for Hurricane Irene, the threat of the storm is forcing Broadway to wrestle with closing theaters for the weekend.

Disney Theatrical Productions announced that it was canceling performances of both "Mary Poppins" and "The Lion King" on Saturday and Sunday.

Complete coverage: Hurricane Irene

Lincoln Center Theater's "War Horse," this year's Tony Award-winner for best play, will also shut its doors for the weekend, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Playbill.com reports that the Nederlander Organization announced via Twitter that all Saturday and Sunday shows would be canceled due to the weather. That message, which was reportedly sent shortly after 4 p.m. EDT, no longer appears on the organization's Twitter page. A tweet dated 2:01 p.m. EDT asks followers to check the Broadway League's website for the status of shows.

Broadway.com also reports that all shows have been canceled in anticipation of Hurricane Irene.

The Broadway League, the national trade association, posted on its web site that Saturday and Sunday shows were cancelled due to the storm.

Organizers of The New York International Fringe Festival, which has been offering almost 200 small shows downtown over the past few weeks, canceled all events on Saturday and Sunday, including its closing night party.

After city officials announced Friday afternoon that New York's transit system will shut down beginning Saturday afternoon, other closings followed.

Irene is expected to hit North Carolina's coast sometime Saturday and track up the East Coast. The National Weather Service has issued a hurricane watch for New York City, and the storm is expected to come closest to the city sometime Sunday.