Coronavirus impact on area theater
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. » There is no one in the local world of theater singing, “The sun will come out tomorrow.” For those who operate the major area theater venues the present is dark and the future is cloudy.
In recent telephone interviews with Philip Morris, the CEO of Proctors in Schenectady, Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, the producing artistic director of Capital Repertory Theatre in Albany, and Owen Smith, the producing director of Playhouse Theatre at the Cohoes Music Hall, the arts leaders expressed deep concern about the mandatory statewide decree that stopped all public gatherings of 500 or more, and cut in half seating capacity at venues under 500 seats.
Proctors cancelled all performances through April 12. This included three performances of “Bandstand” over the past weekend and an 8-performance run of the national tour of “Summer – the Musical.”
Cap Rep closed the “Irish and How They Got That Way,” after three previews and only three regular performances. “The show has one of the best pre-sales of any show on our schedule. There is no doubt it would have been a box office success,” says Mancinelli-Cahill.
Smith lost the final weekend of shows for “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grille” at Cohoes Music Hall.
The financial loss is great. Morris estimates it will be “in the millions.” However, each of the three agree it was the right thing to do. Says Morris, “I’ve read the science. The countries that have had any degree of success fighting the virus are places that practiced containment. Our best chance to avoid mass infections is to flatten the curve.”
He says that is why, at least through April 12, the theaters run by Proctors have no plans to operate at half size in either the 287 seat theater at Capital Rep or the 436 seat G.E. Theatre at Proctors. “We are following the spirit of the law as well as the letter of the law,” he says.
The Cohoes Music Hall seats 415, but Smith said the risk to patrons was too great to continue to run “Lady Day” even at a reduced capacity. They have postponed their next production, “Pippin,” until June 4-15. They will also investigate reshaping the seating plan for 205 people and spacing the audience, should that be necessary.
Capital Rep’s next production, “Sister Act,” is not until July, and will be the opening show in their new space at 251 N. Pearl Street. But Mancinelli-Cahill says she cannot revive the current production because their lease runs out at their current site on April 30.
“The new owners of the building have been saints,” she says. “They have been more than helpful, but their renovations for the building have to start on May 1. There is no choice or alternatives.”
However, she has ordered that the set of “Irish...” be saved. “This is too good a show not to be seen by the public.”
The current problems of the arts groups are made murkier because there is no certainty that the mass gathering ban will be lifted on April 12. That date is a starting point, not a guarantee.
No organization has announced staff layoffs, but without incoming revenue it will be impossible to continue “business as usual.” Their collective hope is that the contribution of the arts is recognized in future grants and budgets. Says Morris, “We will need philanthropic help and for government to recognize the arts are an economic driver and an important part of the local economy.”
Owen, who also runs the Park Playhouse, an organization that offers free theater during the summer at Albany’s Washington Park, agrees. “I realize that there is an immediate focus on health and human charities, but down the line, I hope government leaders recognize the arts and cultural institutions are an important part of the fabric of our community. We cannot survive if neglected.”
Asked what could be done until the situation returns to something near normal, Morris replies. “There never will be a return to today’s normal. Things have forever changed. But what I tell my staff about the present is ‘Be calm and be kind.’
“We all have to recognize people are suffering and we must act as one community. We have to help each other.”