Playhouse Stage raises curtain on the web
Company offers free online features as fundraising effort
Over the past seven months, area audiences have missed out on more than 80 performances and other events that Playhouse Stage Company had planned to hold.
To re-engage with them, the theater company has launched a new campaign called “Spotlight in the Dark.”
It features about 10 videos highlighting different aspects of the company, from its big summer Park Playhouse productions to the educational programs it brings to schools. The videos are appearing at a rate of about one a day, through Oct. 18, on Playhouse Stage’s Facebook page, facebook.com/playhousestageco, and its other socialmedia channels.
Additional components include an online screening of the company’s production of “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” which had its March run cut short by the coronavirus pandemic, scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Monday, and “The Spotlight Cabaret” at 7 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18.
With live segments hosted by Owen Smith, Playhouse Stage’s producing artistic director, the cabaret will include new, prerecorded performances by artists associated with the company over the years. Some were shot at Playhouse Stage’s home theater, the Cohoes Music Hall, while others, because of distance and/or health concerns, were done by performers in their homes. Among the latter is Jason Jacoby, who played the emcee in Playhouse Stage’s “Cabaret” in 2012 and the title role in “Sweeney Todd” last fall. All parts of “Spotlight in the
Dark” are free, but viewers are being asked to contribute toward the company’s financial well-being; the fundraising goal over the 10-day campaign is $25,000. Patrons who donate at least $250 to Playhouse Stage during “Spotlight” will receive a free three-month subscription to Broadway HD, a Netflix-style streaming service that offers Broadway plays and musicals for home viewing.
Smith said in a statement, “Our ‘Spotlight in the Dark’ campaign gives us an opportunity to talk about how much more we have to offer than just those (Park Playhouse) productions.
“We’ll be talking about education and outreach programs that many folks in our audience likely aren’t aware of, and how we’ve worked hard to keep those programs going despite the shutdown.”