NEW YORK (AP) — A power outage crippled the tourist-filled heart of Manhattan just as Saturday night Broadway shows were set to go on, sending theater-goers spilling into the streets, knocking out Times Square’s towering electronic screens and bringing subway lines to a near halt.

The New York City Fire Department said a transformer fire at West 64th Street and West End Avenue affected hundreds of thousands of customers along a 30-block stretch from Times Square to about 72nd Street and Broadway.

The fire started just before 7 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Con Edison officials restored electricity to customers and businesses primarily on Manhattan’s Upper West Side just before midnight.

The temperature was in the low 80s as the sun set, but not as steaming as Manhattan can get in July, challenging the city’s power grid.

Power went out early Saturday evening at much of Rockefeller Center, reaching the Upper West Side and knocking out traffic lights.

The outage comes on the anniversary of the 1977 New York City outage that left most of the city without power.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a statement that although no injuries were reported, “the fact that it happened at all is unacceptable.” He said the state Department of Public Service will investigate.

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.

Emily Totero, 30, planned to bring out-of-town guests to see “Moulin Rouge.” But once they got to the theater district, they saw the power go out.

“You could see all the theater lights across the street, all the marquees went out. That’s what we noticed first,” she said.

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