Your pal Chuck wrote a story this week for the Herald-Dispatch about how local theatre companies are reacting to the coronavirus shutdown. You can read the story at this link - and right here (with a few corrections included):
The classic theatre slogan is, “The show must go on.”
Community theatre companies are used to overcoming obstacles to producing shows, including sick actors, bad weather, power outages, broken microphones and wardrobe malfunctions.
But the coronavirus (COVID-19) has finally presented an obstacle that local theatre companies can’t overcome (with a few exceptions). Even Broadway was forced to admit defeat and has announced that all shows in New York have been suspended until April 12.
In the Tri-State, most companies have followed suit, citing the safety of their cast and the audience. With only three exceptions, they have shut down or at least “paused” the shows they planned to stage in the Spring of 2020.
Students at Marshall University have been sent home, so the School of Theatre has canceled the West Virginia Thespian Festival and the play “Sense and Sensibility.”
The Paramount Players in Ashland, Ky., canceled their production of the musical “Mamma Mia,” announcing the closing just five hours before the first public performance.
First Stage Theatre Company, Huntington’s children’s theatre, had two musicals in rehearsal: “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” and “Disney’s Moana, Jr.” Production on both shows was stopped on Friday.
“It’s our hope that we’ll be able to restart the shows within a few weeks,” said Amy Browning, president of First Stage. “But the safety of our actors comes first, so we’re closing down until it’s safe to resume our rehearsals.”
The three exceptions to the shutdown (at this writing) are in divided between Kanawha County and Ashland.
The Alban Performing Arts Center in St. Albans, W.Va., is still rehearsing its up-coming production of “The O’Neill Project.” The group is also holding auditions has canceled planned auditions for its next production, “A Wrinkle in Time."
In Winfield, W.Va., the West Virginia Actor’s Conservatory will continue rehearsals preparations for its production of “Dracula.” The group has no plans to pause the production delay upcoming auditions, according to director Lawrence Burgess. “Not even in the slightest. Full steam ahead.”
In Russell, Ky., the Tri-State’s newest theatre company held auditions for its first production Monday night. Co-founder Samuel Perkins said, “My fiancé and I just started On the Edge Theatre Company and as of now we are still moving forward.”
Other companies were in the process of preparing the next show, but decided to change plans. The Charleston Light Opera Guild’s rehearsals of the musical “Memphis” were halted and the show has been canceled. The Actors Guild of Parkersburg has suspended all rehearsals and auditions until further notice.
Charleston’s CYAC theatre company had planned to stage two plays over the next two weekends, but both “BoysNight / GirlsRoom” and “Love Is Not An Angry Thing, A Predator Among Us” have been postponed.
The Portsmouth Little Theatre canceled its plans to hold auditions for “Sylvia” last weekend, and the production has been canceled.
The Aracoma Story in Logan, W.Va., has put its auditions for the summer season on hold. In Charleston, BlackRoot Theatre has paused for at least two weeks.
Other groups are moving their next production. Huntington’s Alchemy Theatre was planning to stage “Opening Night: A Cabaret” in May, but the performance date is now in question. The Children’s Theatre of Charleston has moved its production of “Disney’s Mary Poppins, Jr.” to July 10-12.
It’s typical for area companies to produce more than a dozen shows between March and June, but with current health concerns, it may be weeks - or longer - before a new schedule for shows is determined, and some of those shows will not be rescheduled - which also calls into question the negative financial effects on those companies.
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