San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
What’s on, off at theaters
Many local companies have opted to shift productions to later in the year in hopes that the Omicron surge soon passes
Taking a cue from Broadway, which has struggled in recent weeks to field healthy casts in the wake of the latest COVID-19 surge, several San Diego theater companies have announced postponements and cancellations for shows that were scheduled to open in January.
More than half of the shows originally scheduled for January runs have been either postponed or canceled. The schedule changes almost daily, but here’s the rundown on what’s still playing and what has shifted back for COVID or other reasons as of Monday, Jan. 10.
Postponed
Broadway San Diego has canceled its one-night engagement of “Friends: The Musical Parody” that was set for Thursday at the Balboa Theatre. A scheduling conflict caused the cancellation, but Broadway San Diego officials say they are hoping to reschedule the show later in the season. Now its 2022 schedule will open Feb. 24 with a one-night performance of The Choir of Man. broadwaysd.com
Cygnet Theatre’s “Life Sucks” will now open Feb. 3 and run through Feb. 27. cygnettheatre.com
Lamb’s Players Theatre’s “The Hound of the Baskervilles,” originally scheduled for Jan. 22 to March 20, has been postponed to October. Instead, Lamb’s will delay the opening of its 2022 season until April 2, when it will reprise its 2019 production of the musical “Million Dollar Quartet.” lambsplayers.org
Moonlight Stage Productions has pushed back its Club M cabaret concert by Leonard Patton from Jan. 15 to March 15, because its overhead lighting rig for the enclosed stage space is being rebuilt. moonlightstage.com
New Village Arts’ world premiere play “Desert Rock Garden,” originally scheduled for Jan. 21 to Feb. 20, will now open on Feb. 19, which is the 80th anniversary of the Day of Remembrance, marking the date the federal executive order was signed to create Japanese internment camps. newvillagearts.org
New Village Arts’ Final Draft New Play Festival, originally set for Jan. 7-9, has been rescheduled for April 1-3. newvillagearts.org
The Old Globe’s annual Powers New Voices Festival, originally planned for Jan. 14-16, will now take place April 6-10. theoldglobe.org
Ovation Theatre’s youth production of the musical “Curtains,” originally planned for Jan. 21-30 at Palomar College’s Howard Brubeck Theatre, has been postponed due to Palomar’s decision to temporarily close the theater due to COVID. New dates and a new venue have not been announced. ovationtheatre.org
Playwrights Project has postponed its Plays by Young Writers Festival, which was scheduled for Jan. 29 to Feb. 2. New dates have not been announced. playwrightsproject.org
San Diego Repertory Theatre has postponed its production of “The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time,” which had been scheduled to open in previews on Jan. 6. The delay was caused by flood damage to the theater from a recent rainstorm.
The theater hopes to reschedule “Curious Incident” in the July-august period. Its 2022 season will now open in March. sdrep.org
Welk Resort Theatre’s “Nunsense: A Musical Comedy,” originally set to run Jan. 14 to March 27, will now open Feb. 4 and play through March 27. sandiegotickets.welkresorts.com
Still scheduled
Patio Playhouse’s “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” was scheduled to open Friday and run through Feb. 6. patioplayhouse.com
Scripps Ranch Theatre’s “Heisenberg” was scheduled to open Friday and run through Jan. 30. scrippsranchtheatre.org
North Coast Repertory Theatre’s “Desperate Measures” musical was scheduled to open Saturday and play through Feb. 6. northcoastrep.org
Moxie Theatre’s world premiere play “Sapience” will open Jan. 26 and runs through Feb. 20. moxietheatre.com
North Coast Repertory Theatre’s “The Soap Myth,” starring Oscar winner Richard Dreyfuss, will play Jan. 24 and 25 only. northcoastrep.org
Moonlight Stage Productions’ Club M cabaret show “Ladies Who Lunch: A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim” will be presented on Jan. 29. moonlightstage.com.
pam.kragen@sduniontribune.com