COVID-19 gives bleak outlook for KC’s live summer theater, but two shows might go on
While COVID-19 has mostly wiped out the local live theater scene for now, at least two summer productions appear likely to survive, albeit with concessions made to the health crisis.
Starlight Theatre’s original 2020 slate of six musicals plus appearances by Riverdance and Blue Man Group is canceled, but the iconic theater plans to present “Godspell” — with a local cast and creative and production teams — Aug. 19-25.
Starlight president and CEO Rich Baker said that final approval must come from the mayor’s office and that details need to be worked out with the actors’ union, but he’s optimistic “Godspell” will happen.
“This is a good way to at least give our patrons something this summer,” Baker said.
He indicated that Starlight’s outdoor setting and 7,958-seat capacity will help with social distancing and that Godspell’s small cast (10) also simplifies things. “If we have to, we can put the actors in masks,” he said.
At the MTH Theater at Crown Center, “What’s Going On: The Music of Motown” appears likely to run July 23-Aug. 16. “We don’t want to cancel any more shows,” said Tim Scott, executive artistic director.
Like Baker at Starlight, Scott expects social distancing will be required inside theaters for the indefinite future, assuring that attendance will be limited to half of capacity or less. That’s why MTH is considering moving the Motown show from its home theater to Crown Center’s Quixotic Theater (formerly American Heartland Theatre), which seats more than twice as many people.
“We know with the Motown show we’re going to present it virtually, at the very least,” Scott said. “At the very best, we’d present this show at Quixotic Theater and limit capacity to about a fourth.”
Of course, any plans require the approval of the city and actors’ unions. Actors’ Equity, the national union representing more than 51,000 actors and stage managers, has stated that it isn’t safe for live theaters to reopen and won’t be until the epidemic is under control with effective testing and contact tracing.
Scott said MTH might adjust its 2020-21 schedule, which now includes “Carousel” (Aug. 27-Sept. 20) and “Titanic” (Oct. 8-25). Shows with fewer cast members that are less expensive to produce — and therefore can make a profit with smaller audiences — might replace those bigger shows.
“We do musicals and musical revues, so it’s not a stretch for us just to do musical revues,” Scott said.
Starlight relies on touring Broadway companies and therefore has no control over shows being canceled. But the theater is optimistic about next year.
“All the shows canceled this year, we’ll try to book next year,” Baker said. “But I already have a full schedule for next year, so I think we’ll have a very full summer next year.”
Meanwhile, Starlight is simply trying to keep its head above some troubling financial waters.
In addition to the demise of all its stage shows, Starlight has lost most of its concerts — including Alicia Keys on Aug. 26 — because musicians’ tours have been canceled or postponed. Only a handful of concerts remain on the schedule, none before mid-August, and Baker expects them also to be wiped out.
“I’d be surprised, given the trend, if we have any concerts this season,” he said.
Baker, who said Starlight’s attendance break-even point is about 50% capacity for plays and 75% for big concerts, said the nonprofit theater operating at the city-owned venue is dipping into its emergency fund as it projects losing $4.5 million or more.
All professional companies are hurting, and the pain could continue into the fall.
“It’s looking more and more like tours won’t go out until early next year,” Baker said.
Locally, that could affect the Kansas City Broadway Series, which is scheduled to open its 2020-21 season with “Mean Girls” Oct. 27-Nov. 1 at the Music Hall.
The Broadway Series lost “Aladdin” at the Music Hall in April and postponed “Menopause The Musical” at the Kauffman Center from June 6 to Aug. 2, then recently canceled the show altogether.
Other local theater groups that plan to kick off their 2020-21 seasons in the fall don’t have to worry about tour cancellations.
Spinning Tree Theatre appears to have the earliest 2020-21 start among those professional groups. Its “Miss You Like Hell” is scheduled to run Aug. 14-30 at the Johnson County Arts & Heritage Center.
If the crisis allows, Kansas City Repertory Theatre’s season will open with “The Old Man and the Old Moon” Sept. 11-Oct. 4 at Spencer Theatre. KCRep canceled three spring productions and its annual fundraising gala, suffering an estimated loss of nearly $2 million.
Here are the summer outlooks for other local professional theaters:
▪ Kansas City Actors Theatre has postponed “Jesus Hopped the ‘A’ Train” (Aug. 5-23) and plans to open its 2020-21 season in September, according to Matt Sameck, director of development and marketing.
▪ Quality Hill Playhouse has postponed “Kansas City Here I Come” scheduled for June 12-July 12. Its 2020-21 season is set to begin Sept. 11.
▪ New Theatre Restaurant, where “Freaky Friday” was scheduled to open July 8, issued an update on its website May 22 saying it has canceled “all remaining performances for the indeterminate future” and has shuttered its offices.
▪ Metropolitan Ensemble Theatre, which had scheduled “Oliver!” June 18-28 to conclude its 2019-20 season, plans to release a revised 2020-21 season by July 1.
▪ Music Theatre Kansas City executive director Cary Danielson Pandzik said “Little Shop of Horrors,” which was ready to go when the shutdown began in March, will be performed in June — but just for parents and families of the performers. MTKC holds out hope for late-summer shows before general audiences.
▪ The Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, despite having an outdoor venue at Southmoreland Park, decided in mid-April to postpone its production of “The Tempest” from June 16-July 5 until next summer.
▪ Theatre for Young America, which produces plays at Union Station’s City Stage, has postponed “Ella Enchanted Musical” (June 16-July 4) and “Tom Sawyer” (July 15-24), but executive director Gene Mackey indicated that TYA plans a full 2020-21 season “if 50% attendance is OK.”
