Berkeley Rep pushes back its reopening
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is postponing its world premiere of “The Ripple, the Wave That Carried Me Home” from October until the fall of 2022, the company announced Wednesday.
The news pushes the theater’s reopening to November, with the arrival of “Wintertime” by Charles L. Mee. “Ripple,” which was written by Christina Anderson, now wraps up the season, with performances beginning Sept. 9, 2022.
“At this moment in time it simply seems as though the most prudent choice is to postpone our opening for a month to allow this current wave of infection to run its course,” Managing Director Susan Medak said in a statement.
The postponement joins a fresh wave of theater cancellations and delays as the delta variant spreads. In late July, PianoFight, Oakland Theater Project and Chanticleers Theatre all canceled coming productions, while Custom Made Theatre Company also moved its October show to 2022.
On Aug. 10, Exit Theatre canceled the San Francisco Fringe Festival, which was planned for September. The following day, Magic Theatre announced that it was postponing its planned production of Taylor Mac’s “Joy and Pandemic” from fall until “a
later date.”
“Like everyone, we were too hyped to get back together — to gather together again,” Magic’s new artistic director, Sean San José, said in a statement. “With the uncertainty around variant strains, we cannot fully embrace the resonance in the work. We need proper reflection time for this piece to be rightfully presented.”
When Berkeley Rep reopens in November, the company plans to require proof of vaccination from audiences as well as masking at all times.