Future rides on musical’s success
Sister Act could be the final act for a Palmerston North theatre group hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.
Abbey Musical Theatre was forced to cancel its April performances of Sister Act when the country went into lockdown.
Board member Allan Nagy said although they were able to resurrect the 12 shows, which would go ahead at The Regent on Broadway in August, the troupe would not be able to recover $50,000 lost on costs such as advertising and wages.
‘‘Without a successful show, we could not go on. We certainly can’t afford to lose anything further.
‘‘It’s hard, especially for a volunteer organisation. It certainly hurts.’’
Abbey Musical Theatre has presented over 170 shows since the curtain first raised on The Pirates of Penzance in 1900, and involves more than 100 members.
Nagy said professional Auckland actor Lavina Williams, was still available to play Deloris, the lead character made famous by Whoopi Goldberg in the 1992 film, and the rest of the company was excited to get back into it.
Nagy said the next six months would be tough, and the next 12 to 18 months would be the test to see if the group could get back on level ground.
‘‘It’s still going to be a bit touch and go.’’
It cost about $80,000 a year to keep the doors open, as the society leased the building. The budget for a production such as Sister Act was $200,000.
There was some funding from pub charities, but most of its income came from ticket sales.
‘‘We pride ourselves on a good show.
‘‘We are trying to watch costs where we can but put on a quality show.’’
The Regent acting manager David Walsh said Sister Act would be the first big show since the coronavirus crisis.
‘‘We are quite excited, and we think it will go quite well.’’
He said it was fitting a Manawatu¯ production would relaunch the season.
The theatre experience would be kept as normal as possible, albeit with QR codes, hand sanitiser and a heavy-duty cleaning regime.
‘‘People, I think, are wanting to go out and I think Sister Act is the perfect show.’’
There will be 12 shows at The Regent from August 7 to 22.
Tickets are available via Ticketek and from the ticketing centre on Broadway Avenue.