Repertory Philippines production 'Anna in the Tropics' cancelled due to COVID-19 threat

Repertory Philippines has cancelled and postponed two of its productions amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat in the country.

On Friday, the theater company announced that the stage play "Anna in the Tropics" has been canceled and the production "Carousel" has been put off to a later date.

"As the alert on the health crisis has been raised to Code Red Level 2, we must put the health and safety of all theatergoers, actors, and team first and foremost," the organizers said in a statement.

"Anna in the Tropics" is a Pulitzer-Prize winning play written by Nilo Cruz and directed by Joey Mendoza.

It was scheduled to premiere at the OnStage Theater, Makati, on Friday. The play was supposed to run until April 5.

Repertory Philippines also said they were unable to continue rehearsals for Rodgers and Hammerstein's "Carousel." The show is tentatively rescheduled to July or August.

"We need to verify the availability of our cast and our conductor before we can finalize the dates. We will be publishing regular updates to keep everyone posted," the organizers said.

"Carousel," directed by Toff de Venecia, was originally scheduled to run from May 1 until May 24 at the Onstage Theater.

On Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the COVID-19 as a pandemic.

The Philippines has 52 confirmed cases with five deaths. Metro Manila was declared under community quarantine on Thursday. —Angelica Y. Yang/MGP, GMA News