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Megan Thee Stallion was rushed to the hospital after “feeling very ill” while onstage on Broadway in Moulin Rouge! The Musical. She later took to social media to explain she had been “pushing myself past my limits lately.”
Speaking to Variety, a spokesperson said the singer began “feeling very ill” during Tuesday’s production. An understudy stepped in and the show continued. According to her spokesperson, doctors identified extreme exhaustion, dehydration, vasoconstriction and low metabolic levels as the cause of her symptoms. She was discharged and was resting.
The Grammy-winning rapper wrote on Instagram that she would take off Wednesday’s matinee and evening performances to rest and recuperate.
“I’ll be right back on that stage Thursday, stronger, clearer, and ready to give you 100 per cent the way you deserve,” she wrote.
“Last night was a real wake-up call for me. I’ve been pushing myself past my limits lately, running on empty, and my body finally said enough. It honestly scared me. I thought I was gonna faint on stage, I really tried to push through my performance but I just couldn’t,” she wrote.
Megan Thee Stallion made her Broadway debut last week as nightclub impresario Harold Zidler in the show at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, and was expected to conclude her eight-week run on May 17. Others who have played the part of Zidler include Boy George, Wayne Brady, Tituss Burgess and Bob the Drag Queen.
An adaptation of the 2001 Baz Luhrmann movie of the same name, Megan Thee Stallion is the first performer who identifies as a woman to take on the role of MC in a professional production of the musical worldwide.
“I’ve always believed in pushing myself creatively and theater is definitely a new opportunity that I’m excited to embrace,” the singer said in a statement around the time her involvement was announced.
“Broadway demands a different level of discipline, preparation and storytelling, but I’m up for the challenge and can’t wait for the Hotties to see a new side of me.”
Other musicians have been hospitalized for exhaustion in the past. The late Kiss lead guitarist Ace Frehley was hospitalized for exhaustion and forced to cancel a show in New York in 2016. In 2013, Justin Bieber collapsed backstage during a London concert. Though he finished the show, he received oxygen and was later taken to the hospital.
And in 2001, Mariah Carey checked herself into a hospital for “extreme exhaustion” due to her busy work schedule.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is slated to close July 26 after a seven-year run. The show is about the goings-on in a turn-of-the-century Parisian nightclub, updated with tunes like Single Ladies and Firework alongside the big hit Lady Marmalade.
