Hale Centre Theatre opens, then closes again because of COVID-19 — and more reactions to the pandemic in Utah's performing arts world
Hale Centre Theatre, the Sandy, Utah, community theater known for massive family-friendly musical spectaculars, raised more than a few eyebrows in Utah’s theater community when it reopened in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic — first with a production of “Bright Star” in its 467-seat Jewel Box Stage on June 26, then with “Mary Poppins” in the 911-seat in-the-round Centre Stage on July 1.
Theater management has declared a mission “to bring hope, relief and joy” to its audience during the pandemic, and created a detailed plan to install public health protocols for employees and customers alike — meeting the guidelines issued by state and county health officials.
So the theater opened. And in the first week, a cast member tested positive for COVID-19. And in the next week, a second member of the company tested positive. And Hale Centre Theatre suspended its production of “Mary Poppins” for two weeks.
I wrote about Hale Centre Theatre’s closure, in an article that included the theater’s management defense of its COVID-19 procedures and detractors — including current and recently departed crew members — who say the reality on the ground doesn’t match the written plan.
Read about Hale’s closure here, at sltrib.com.
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There’s been a lot to write about COVID-19 and Utah’s performing arts scene, and I haven’t had a chance to round them up recently. Here’s a broad sample of what I’ve written:
• In mid-June, Dreamscapes — the art installation made of repurposed recycled materials and filling several rooms of what used to be a Gap store in The Gateway in Salt Lake City — reopened, with some of its art creations revised for the COVID-19 age.
• The Sundance Institute has been trying to figure out how to stage the 2021 Sundance Film Festival next January, and the festival’s new director, Tabitha Jackson, wrote an open memo to share her thinking. Much is still being decided, or being left to decide until more is known about the virus, but Jackson knows a few things for sure: The festival will still happen in Utah, but also in at least 20 cities around North America, and a lot will be happening online. For now, it’s also going to be happening with fewer employees, after Sundance Institute’s executive director, Keri Putnam, announced a layoff of about two dozen staffers — about 15% of the payroll.
• For the third time, The Grand Theatre at Salt Lake Community College aimed to debut its production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” The first time, in spring 2019, was canceled in a copyright dispute between the publishing company of the old theatrical version and the producers of Aaron Sorkin’s recent Broadway adaptation. The second time, in March and using the Sorkin script, fell victim to the closures around the COVID-19 pandemic. After altering the production, including a plan to wear face masks onstage, all seemed to be a go for a July 1 opening that would seem more timely in the face of our national unrest over racial inequality and police brutality. Alas, it was not to be, and the latest cancelation was announced just before Hale Centre Theatre planned to reopen “Mary Poppins.”
• Another casualty of coronavirus-related closures: The inability of authors to promote their new books by having launch parties, readings and autograph events in bookstores. I talked to four authors and two proprietors of Utah bookstores about the loss of such events, and how authors and stores are working to create alternative events online.
• FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention announced that it was canceling, er, postponing this year’s convention to 2021. The convention — which lures more than 100,000 fans of science-fiction, fantasy, horror and other genres — tried to put off such an announcement for weeks, but the inevitability was finally too much to push against.
• Another theater troupe had a COVIID-19 problem. The Hopebox Theatre in Kaysville, a small community theater with a mission of providing entertainment to families of cancer patients, had to cancel its productions through the end of the year — because six members of its company tested positive for COVID-19.
• Some theater companies in Utah are experimenting to create live performance experiences during the pandemic. The common thread is that the audiences will be small, socially distanced and wearing masks.
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I’m also on The Salt Lake Tribune’s team covering the COVID-19 pandemic, and the response of Utah’s government and private sectors to it. Read all of the team’s work here, at sltrib.com.