Arts return to live performance with masks in place ... mostly
When people hear I’ve been going to shows, the reaction is nearly universal: “Did you feel safe?”
Not “How was the show?” or even “What did you see?” The first question, often accompanied by a raised eyebrow and fear-widened eyes, is: “Did you
feel safe?”
That’s the crux of the issue for performing arts organizations as they gingerly take steps toward reopening after months of empty stages because of the coronavirus pandemic.
From scholarly journals to social media forums, debate rages in the artistic community about when, how and where to get the performing arts back to business. Some, such as the Hale Centre Theatre in Salt Lake City, have reopened — only to suspend productions after cast members came down with COVID-19.
I attended three shows, with different styles of entertainment and using different set-ups, at locations around Central Florida this weekend. One thing that’s clear: Audiences are hungry for arts and entertainment that doesn’t come through a screen. All three events — a traditional
musical, a concert and a comedy show — had robust audiences. As for audience behavior, we’ll get to that in a moment.
What was immediately obvious: Going to the theater is very different than it was.
‘Assassins’
The new Wildfire Players staged the Stephen Sondheim musical “Assassins” throughout the weekend, and you may be thinking it takes some chutzpah to present a show rife with death during a pandemic.
I wouldn’t disagree, but “Assassins” co-director Gabriel Garcia told me before the performance that the show’s message — about how the American dream fails some and drives them to desperate acts — has a special resonance during this time of civil and social unrest.
The production made its point, but in some ways the protection against COVID-19 worked against the show. Presented by Penguin Point Productions in Oviedo Mall, the show was moved from a small theater to a much larger former Gap clothing store.
The audience was kept far away from the unmasked performers, who sang to recorded music, but that meant the large space — designed to dampen the noise of retail shopping — often swallowed the sound.
And though all kinds of precautions were taken — temperature checks, mask wearing by audience members, socially distanced seating in small groups or single chairs — once the lights go down, there’s no telling what audience members will do.
A young man in front of me, for example, left his mask pulled down off his nose for nearly the whole show. A latecomer sat down next to me, which startled me, and then took off her mask for several minutes while she removed a pullover sweater. Surprises like that tend to pull one’s attention from what’s happening on stage.
It might be more prudent for theaters to assign all seats beforehand to prevent strangers mingling as much. The chairs could be arranged by the groups coming, with those who show up at the last minute (or late) relegated to single seats in the back of the room. That’s more work for the theater, of course, but could reassure those skittish about buying a ticket.
Wildfire Players’ next production, “Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead,” runs July 24-26.
Find out more at penguinpointproductions. com.
‘Re:Charge’
Saturday night’s 7:30 p.m. “Re:Charge” concert sold out so quickly that a second performance was added for later that night. Presented by Creative City
Project and Timucua Arts Foundation, “Re:Charge” was billed as a restful experience and it lived up to that description.
Concertgoers had been encouraged to bring blankets and pillows from home to the large hall inside Harriett’s Orlando Ballet Centre in Loch Haven Park. After temperature and mask checks, patrons picked a marked 8-foot-by8-foot square on the floor to set up their resting spot.
Because of the space between them, concertgoers were permitted to remove their masks once planted on their patch of floor, but many left them on.
The music, curated by Timucua executive director Christopher Belt, was ethereal — and particularly transportive when lying on your back and gazing at the far-off ceiling or out the floor-to-ceiling windows toward Lake Formosa… or when feeling your eyelids flutter shut to the soothing sounds of classical guitar and violin.
The eight musicians — those who could, wearing masks — were spread around the room, distanced from the audience and each other. The highest praise I can bestow is that I left feeling exactly what I was promised … recharged.
Comedy Brunch
“April Fresh’s Comedy Brunch” returned to Parliament House’s Footlight Theatre on Sunday afternoon. The popular drag performer and pals put on a 90-minute show that culminated with a fun-filled Disney-themed number featuring sparkly drag queens Ginger Minj and Gidget Galore decked out like the world’s most famous mice.
Tables for brunching were distanced, and food servers wore masks and gloves. But obviously audience members’ masks have to come off for eating and drinking. And then some neglected to re-mask when making their way to the stage to tip the performers.
Tips, by the way, were collected in bins instead of being handed to the performers. And there were options to tip electronically, precluding the need to handle cash at all.
Still, it may have been the mimosas, but patrons didn’t seem to grasp the idea of one person approaching the stage at a time.
A nice touch: Opening the show with pandemic nods such as a medley of “From a Distance” and “Please Don’t Touch Me” and a performer spraying disinfectant while wearing a dragged-up hazmat suit.
While masks made it easier on performers who didn’t know their words, as April Fresh cracked, drag is a lip-sync art after all, so for most of the show the entertainers remained unmasked — though they kept to the stage. April Fresh’s next comedy brunch is set for Aug. 16; go to Facebook. com/ParliamentHouse Orlando for details.
Safe?
So did I feel safe? Well, on the whole yes… with moments of no. It’s worth noting, though, that all the moments giving me pause were instigated by fellow audience members — when not following the house rules.
That tells me there may be a way forward for more performing-arts events. But it will require audiences to take their fun seriously by buying in to the safety protocols — and, adding to their responsibilities, producers will have to be prepared to make people play by the rules.
Find me on Twitter @matt_on_arts or email me at mpalm@orlandosentinel .com.
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