Penn & Teller, longtime Las Vegas headliners, going dark

Penn & Teller, favorites in Las Vegas since 1993, are off the stage until further notice.

“We are heartbroken to disappoint our fans, but the new figures that have come in today make it clear that the risk of bringing our fans together in theater tonight is just too great. So we will be closed for a while,” Teller said in a statement Saturday. “We love you all and will be back with you as soon as we possibly can.”

Penn Jillette posted on Twitter: “Out of concern and love for our audiences, & well, concern and love for everyone — we will be canceling our shows starting tonight for the next few weeks Hope to be back on stage soon when gathering is once again responsible. Let’s all take care of ourselves & each other.”

Saturday’s show had reportedly sold 1,000 tickets in the duo’s eponymous theater at the Rio.

The duo have headlined Las Vegas since debuting at Bally’s in January 1993, and have starred at the Rio since 2001. In all, they have performed together for 43 years.

“We are all in this together,” Jillette said in a text message. “We felt doing our show would be irresponsible. That’s just true now. And I hope it’s not true again soon.”

Last month, Teller returned to the stage after undergoing extensive surgeries on his back.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His PodKats podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.