NEW YORK — A power outage may have crippled Manhattan Sunday evening, but it didn't break the spirit of New Yorkers, and visiting tourists.
As Broadways audiences and concert-goers spilled into the streets, spontaneous eruptions of improvisational performances could be seen and heard around the city.
Manhattan #Blackout Update: Last night's power outage resulted in a backstage flood, damaging many of our costumes. But the show must go on—and it did, with a few minor adjustments of course. pic.twitter.com/gvdBF37WJU
— The Lion King - Musical (@TheLionKing)
July 14, 2019 The temperature was in the low 80s as the sunset, but not as steaming as Manhattan can get in July, challenging the city's power grid.
Lights go out in Broadway, so Broadway takes to the streets.Greatest city on earth. pic.twitter.com/GPK9bgbwZi
— Rob Bennett (@rob_bennett)
July 14, 2019 Power went out early Saturday evening at much of Rockefeller Center, reaching the Upper West Side and knocking out traffic lights.
Broadway shows cancelled folks. So sorry!! Come again to @wecomefromaway -- #blackout #broadway pic.twitter.com/Z4Ja9PskMZ
— Julie Reiber Bennett (@juliereiber)
July 14, 2019 A big cheer went up among Upper West Side residents when power flickered back on at about 10:30 p.m. For hours before that, doormen stood with flashlights in the darkened entrances of upscale apartment buildings along Central Park West, directing residents to walk up flights of stairs to their apartments, with all elevators out.
You're going to want your volume on for this!The cast of Come From Away and Hadestown took to the streets after their shows were stopped during the New York City blackout.MORE: https://t.co/TrtNt99709 pic.twitter.com/LvXWVTtk3Y
— Globalnews.ca (@globalnews)
July 14, 2019 Police directed traffic at intersections as pedestrians and bikes weaved through the dark.
The outage comes on the anniversary of the 1977 New York City outage that left most of the city without power.
Most Broadway musicals and plays canceled their Saturday evening shows, including "Hadestown," which last month won the Tony Award for best musical. Several cast members from the musical "Come From Away" held an impromptu performance in the street outside the theater for disappointed audience members.
The outage also hit Madison Square Garden, where Jennifer Lopez was performing Saturday night. Attendees said the concert went dark about 9:30 p.m. in the middle of Lopez's fourth song of the night. The arena was later evacuated. And at Penn Station, officials were using backup generators to keep the lights on.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Gonna take more than a city-wide blackout to shut us down! Rescheduling the show for Monday night! ✨------ ItsMyPartyTour #SeeYouSoon #TakeTwoTicketmaster and LiveNation will have details on their websites in the morning!!! pic.twitter.com/ILnLhVVe59
— Jennifer Lopez (@JLo)
July 14, 2019 Both Carnegie Hall and the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts were evacuated.
A New York City blackout saw choir members creating a makeshift stage and performing outside of @CarnegieHall pic.twitter.com/xaNJ7GM6fH
— Reuters Top News (@Reuters)
July 14, 2019 When the lights went out early Saturday evening, thousands of people streamed out of darkened Manhattan buildings, crowding Broadway next to bumper-to-bumper traffic amid emergency vehicle sirens and honking car horns
Electricity was restored to customers and businesses in midtown Manhattan and the Upper West Side by about midnight.
Con Edison CEO John McAvoy said a problem at a substation caused the power failure at 6:47 p.m., affecting 73,000 customers for more than three hours along a 30-block stretch from Times Square to 72nd Street and Broadway, and spreading to Rockefeller Center.
The exact cause of the blackout would not be known until an investigation is completed.
Associated Press contributed to this story.
