Stage set for Performing Arts Center in 2021

Plans underway for events whether virtual or in-person.

Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center will remain closed for in-person events for the rest of the year, but the team that manages the center is already working on what a 2021 season might look like — with or without a pandemic.

The nearly 1,100-seat center opened in 2018 in the City Springs arts and government complex, and has proven popular with residents. Performers and shows on the arts center stage have

included saxophonist Bran- ford Marsalis, Broadway performer Sutton Foster, and Atlanta Ballet and Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific,” directed and cho- reographed by Baayork Lee.

Performing Arts Center Executive Director Shaun Albrechtson said with a new name, Create Sandy Springs, his department will help the city better define its arts and

culture programming. Sandy Springs is work-

ing to carve out an identity for the city center and the surrounding area as an arts district, according to Communications Director Sharon Kraun. In addition to the Performing Arts Center theaters, the Create Sandy Springs team will manage the Conference Center, City Green where outdoor events take place and Heritage Park venues (which includes the Entertainment Lawn, the Blue Stone Building and the Williams-Payne House), a statement said.

Create Sandy Springs is also considering what a complete season would look like in 2021, as well as a contin- gency plan if the pandemic

continues, Kraun said. The number of COVID-19 cases in

Sandy Springs has presented a challenge in restarting the 2020 season, she added.

“We thought we could do an outdoor concert series,” she said. “The environment has been changing constantly. We now know we can’t bring back large groups before the end of the year.”

The City Springs Theatre Company will host virtual performances from the Performing Arts Center stage. Ticketholders receive a pass- code before the streamed musical events. Upcoming shows include “Give our Regards to Broadway” Sept. 24-27, “Broadway in Revue” Oct. 22-25 and “Sentimen- tal Journey” Nov. 19-22. For more information visit the City Springs Theatre Company website at citysprings- theatre.com.

An outdoor holiday event, Sparkle Sandy Springs holiday village of wooden houses, some six feet tall,

peppered around the City Springs campus, is set to take place in December. Kraun said the event will allow families and small groups to be spaced apart as they view the houses.

Sandy Springs took over the Heritage Park venues last spring when Heritage Sandy Springs, the nonprofit which

managed the facility, asked to be released from its operating agreement. The city has always owned the building.

AJC FILE PHOTOS BY BOB ANDRES AND JASON GETZ The Sandy Springs Performing Arts Center houses the Byers Theatre, which has seating for 1,070 on three levels including box seats. Having welcomed Broadway musicals such as “42nd Street” and a variety of concert performers, the center has high hopes for the 2021 season.