In the middle of a summer written by some twisted playwright, local stages are empty. Surrounding businesses are doing their best to adjust and stay open, but Centennial State Ballet, Jesters Dinner Theatre and Longmont Theatre Company have remained closed since mid-March. Concrete plans for the upcoming 2020-21 season only favor the foolish at this point of the story.
“There were certainly ups and downs over 21 years,” longtime Jesters’ co-owner Scott Moore said. “Probably two or three times when we should have just quit, but somehow we kept going. Since 2014-15 it has gotten gradually better. Typically, I’m in the kitchen and then I’m in the shows and my wife, Mary-Lou Moore, is at the piano.”
Jesters run of “Seven Brides For Seven Brothers” came to a sudden end in March and the star of “Oliver!” never got a chance to ask for a second helping at dinner theater performances scheduled for April 24 through July 19. Moore said that they’ve taken this time to upgrade their facilities.
“We’ve put in new carpet and new tiles and painted all the walls,” Moore said. “My wife has the costume shop really organized. It’s obviously tough to be out of business but we’re getting a little bit of help from the government. I could certainly spread the audience out but in terms of artistic integrity, I don’t think keeping the performers distanced makes a lot of sense.”
Down the road, Longmont Theatre Company never got to present Neil Simon’s “The Odd Couple” or Mel Brooks’ “The Producers” this spring. Its popular New Generation Theatre Academy, with programs for preschoolers through high schoolers, also bit the dust in 2020.
Strict reopening regulations also have prevented Longmont Theatre Company from doing so.
Faye Lamb, president of the nonprofit troupe, said, “...a lot of creative people (are) hurting because they don’t have a space to express themselves creatively.”
She also said theater performances at 513 Main St. drive traffic to nearby businesses, which can’t happen if actors can’t take the stage and audiences can’t take their seats. Meanwhile, no money is coming in. “We don’t really have any revenue streams other than donations.”
Lamb and Scott Moore both said performing arts organizations often were left out of discussions about COVID-19 relief despite the fact that, according to Moore, they likely will be some of the last to reopen because of limits on crowd sizes and social distancing mandates.
Meanwhile, Centennial State Ballet, the pre-professional company that has been dancing since 2012 under the direction of Kristin Kingsley, is promising to forge ahead with a season entitled, “A Time to Dance,” which celebrates the power of dance to bring light to the darkness.
“Know that in some form we will still bring forward our mainstage productions, including the beloved … Nutcracker,” the ballet states on its website. “We will share these changes with you soon; as we navigate this new world, we deeply appreciate your support and patience.”
A past Centennial State Ballet performance. (Photo courtesy of Centennial State Ballet)This weekend, the ballet is celebrating its incoming and outgoing senior company members with a virtual garden party. Tickets for the streamed performance, which also will highlight the gardens of ballet board members and staff and attendees, are $25.
Both the ballet and the theater company are requesting donations at this time.
On March 5, one of the last live shows to slip in before the curtain fell at Jesters was the seventh anniversary performance of the Front deRanged Improv Comedy Troupe. Since 2013 the group has conjured laughs out of thin air, based on audience suggestions and a variety of games that generate ideas. Like the Moores at Jesters, Carrie Howard and her husband, Jon Howard, are the creators of their own passion project.
“What we do works really well in their venue. It’s the perfect size,” Carrie Howard said. “Outside of that, what we’ve found that we love the most is performing in the local breweries. We’ve coordinated tours with the BrewHop trolly. That’s been so much fun. There is a magic of an in-person live performance that can’t be replaced. What’s awesome about it is that you’re all in that room and you’re sharing that moment and you’re sharing that energy and sharing those laughs.
“We miss that human experience. You never know where the night’s going to go. What’s funny is that a couple weeks after the show, I couldn’t even tell you what we did but I know it was a hell of a good time and I know we laughed.”
In her more serious moments, Howard works at the University of Colorado Boulder at the school of music. Her troupe recently found gigs working with research fellows or graduate students on their final presentations.
“We conduct improv workshops with them to help them tell the story of their research and make the content of what they’re trying to say more accessible,” Howard said. “We already had one scheduled for May and did conduct that workshop through Zoom. Overall it went really well.
“We attempted to do some improv rehearsals via Zoom which was interesting and challenging,” Howard said. “We discovered new things we could do so we were cracking ourselves up. We had a good time. When I say ‘improv rehearsal,’ people do sometimes think that’s strange, but it is a craft that you do have to continue to rehearse and develop.”
From left, Jane Saltzman, Carrie Howard, Ian Gibbs, Jon Howard and Abie Booth of Front deRanged Improv Comedy Troupe backstage after their last performance on March 5 at Jesters Dinner Theatre in Longmont.(Photo courtesy of Front deRanged Improv Comedy Troupe)
— Caleb All contributed to this report.
