The pandemic has muted local playhouses. Since it’s uncertain when and how a reopening might occur, all theatrical companies are struggling with what their futures might be. They also have some positive outlooks for what comes next.
“I’m an eternal, pragmatic optimist,” Chad Swan-Badgero, artistic director of Peppermint Creek Theatre Co., said. “So I certainly hope we can all return for the start of the season in the fall.”
Swan-Badgero believes people will be cautious and eager to return to theaters when they reopen. “I think audiences and theater-makers are going to come back to the craft of theater much more appreciative of our time together."
Meanwhile, Peppermint Creek’s website now includes myriad options for accessing performances all across the country. Swan-Badgero believes streaming services will expand what theaters are capable of and learning new technological capabilities will make them better.
“I think that will really push theaters into a new world of accessing audiences in different ways we never thought about or were too nervous to try,” Swan-Badgero said. “I hope that the new normal is that we appreciate so many things that we took for granted before the quarantine.”
“The new normal is going to be way different,” Riverwalk Theatre office manager Mike Siracuse said. “People are going to be afraid to go to the theater.”
Riverwalk’s history goes back to 1958. This is the first time it’s had to cancel a string of shows. “I’m keeping the place going. We’ve never had to do such a thing,” Siracuse said.
He thinks livestreaming plays could become more common. Spacing patrons in Riverwalk’s theater seats might be another option.
Riverwalk’s projected ticket sales lost is $14,300. Patrons have been helping out by buying advance tickets for Riverwalk’s next season, and by not asking for ticket refunds. Others have assisted with donations. Siracuse said the outpouring of support is humbling. “People are being extremely generous to us.”
Despite the shutdown, which he fully supports, Siracuse remains optimistic. “I don’t think theater is dead,” he said. ‘It’s going to go on and on.”
John Lepard, executive director of Williamston Theatre, agrees. “I think live theater will bounce back,” he said. “We may have less handshaking, more sanitizing — a different way to clean the space,” Lepard said. “But much like after 9/11, we will come around to a similar situation where we feel normal.”
Williamston was lucky to not carry any debt into this crisis. “Theaters in the red will have a much harder time,” Lepard said. “I’m not sure who will survive this thing.”
Williamston was able to get permission to livestream “These Mortal Hosts,” which is available until April 26, and those who get online tickets will have two weeks to view it. Although the livestream of “These Mortal Hosts” earned positive feedback, Lepard said it’s not doing as well as if it had been produced live.
Revenue losses likely mean abandoning long-awaited plans to remove poles in the theater that can obstruct views.
Lepard said the hardest part of aborting two plays is the disappointment for everyone involved. That included apprentices who couldn’t finish their jobs, audiences who couldn’t use tickets and actors and stage crews who lost creative chances and much-needed paychecks.
Starlight Dinner Theatre’s president Linda Granger is disappointed because their shows were abruptly halted in mid-run. “The hardest part of canceling the season is that we had opened ‘The Lion in Winter’ and had to close down before our second weekend,” she said.
Starlight uses a space in the Waverly East Intermediate School and is restricted by the district’s closings. When schools close, so does Starlight. “We are at the mercy of the school’s policies,” Granger said. “I’m just hoping that after 15 years there, they will allow us to continue. Since we are so reliant on the school, I have no idea what’s going to happen next.”
She expects to open in the fall. “We are absolutely committed to finishing, ‘The Lion in Winter. Financially, we must do the show,” Granger said.
She is afraid initial audience sizes may be restricted, and that could be disastrous for Starlight. “If attendance is anything less than 100, our shows will lose money,” Granger said.
Ixion Theatre performs to about 50 to 65 seats in the Robin Theatre. Because the performance venue and audience sizes are smaller, Ixion artistic director Jeff Croff anticipates getting back to business maybe sooner than others. “Larger venues may find themselves forced to reduce seating to accommodate future guidelines,” he said.
“We are hopeful we can open our 2020-2021 season as usual, but much remains in the air as things evolve around Covid-19,” Croff said.
Croff believes we are all learning during the stay-at-home period that we need friends, family and community. “This basic need is why theater has survived for thousands of years,” he said. “We need to share stories and experiences.”
Lansing Community College Performing Arts director Laura Paige Tufford-Dunkel is keeping hopeful for a fall season. “We try to remain optimistic about our upcoming season,” she said.
“Having gone through this pandemic, we’ve all been changed. I truly believe we will adapt, overcome and create,” she said. “We’ll get back to live theater, music and dance performances.”
Perhaps even harder than canceling shows is not being able to come together in-person to create those shows. “Rehearsals are such a wonderful experience of learning, bonding and connecting with others,” Tufford-Dunckel said.
Since the Over the Ledge Theatre Co. only operates during the summer, it escaped the first wave of cancellations. “Our first show of the summer wasn’t scheduled until July, which now seems somewhat fortuitous,” executive director Joseph Dickson said.
Although he’s doubtful Over the Ledge’s “The Realistic Joneses” will be able to open, Dickson is hoping to produce some sort of live event. “I would hate for the playhouse to sit dark for the entire year,” he said.
The “theater artist part” and the “business and science side” of Dickson have opposing hopes. His theatrical optimism clashes with his more logical pessimism. “I think the short-term future is going to be pretty bleak,” Dickson said. “We’re likely to see quite a bit of contraction in the professional performing arts in particular.”
Dickson sees the current flood of webcasts of shows is a “for now” phenomenon and not a lasting trend. “It’s a tourniquet we are applying to stop the bleeding,” he said. “But it won’t keep us alive for long.”
“We’ve been performing live for each other around the fire for hundreds of thousands of years,” Dickson said. “We will soon be drawn to the fire again.”
“Fun Home,” originally scheduled for May, is now planned to be its first show of the fall.
All shows are canceled for this season. April's “The Fantastic Mr. Fox,” by the All-Of-Us Express Children’s Theatre at Riverwalk is also canceled. “A Hotel on Marvin Gardens” and “Shrek the Musical” will not be rescheduled. “Doubt: A Parable” is being moved to October to replace “Admissions.”
“These Mortal Hosts” is available for pay-for-view at williamstontheatre.org until April 26. Ticket buyers will have two weeks from the purchase date to view the play. The May, “Alabaster,” has been canceled. No decision has been made yet if “Be Here Now” will still open in mid-July.
If schools reopen in the fall, completing its run of “The Lion in Winter” will be Starlight’s first show. After obtaining rights “a small musical” before Christmas is planned. “Harvey” is intended for next spring.
March's “The Skeleton Crew” and May's “rUSt: Monologues from the Midwest” are being moved to next season. The monologues are renamed as they are evolving in Ixion’s Wheel Writing Group to “Turn, Turn, Turn.” No dates have been determined.
Since The Performing Arts Department will still be offering virtual classes this summer, it has canceled all the “Summer Under the Stars” outdoor shows. The pandemic has made auditions impossible, so LCC will not do a musical in the fall as planned.
“The Realistic Joneses” July opening is dependent on virus-related safety issues. No other shows are scheduled until it is safe to do so.
Owosso’s Lebowsky Center for the Performing Arts:
The June run of “The Producers” has been canceled. “Five Women Wearing the Same Dress” — originally scheduled for April — is being postponed to a yet-undetermined date.
Michigan State University Department of Theatre:
March's “Bonnets: How Ladies of Good Breeding are Induced to Murder” and April’s “Marian, Or the True Tale of Robin Hood” were canceled. Their 2020 Summer Circle Theatre season has been moved to June of 2021.
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