I’m calling this period of Montgomery’s history “The Great Arts Pause of 2020.”
Because that’s what it is, a pause. The River Region will bounce back from the coronavirus threat that has events cancelling and venues closing, though it’s going to be a very painful journey over the next couple of months at a minimum.
For now, venues like Montgomery Performing Arts Centre, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cloverdale Playhouse, Garrett Coliseum and more are shutting down - at least for the rest of March - to help minimize the virus’ spread, and local venues that continue to soldier on are exercising extreme caution.
The changes caused by the virus are coming daily, and very swiftly. Readers of last Thursday’s Go Play 334 section had stories on a slew of local events that were canceled just hours later that day - from comedy shows at MPAC to a huge free Christian hip-hop festival downtown.
Sunday afternoon was to feature the last performances at ASF with "Ruby" and "Alabama Story," but those were cancelled as well that morning.
There’s much that has to be rescheduled or rethought in the coming weeks and months - from the SLE Rodeo to WWE to a horde of MPAC concerts, local theatre and local live music gigs.
Along with causing general dismay from everyone who wanted to see these events, there's another major issue. The coronavirus threat is putting good, talented local people out of work for now.
In this instance, it's not like our Montgomery musicians can pack up and go to another town to play. The gigs are being brought to a halt all over.
I thought Montgomery native saxophone player Jason Mingledorff, formerly of St. Paul and The Broken Bones, summed up the situation for musicians pretty nicely in a recent Facebook post:
“With public schools out for the next month and every musician I know (including myself) losing many of their gigs, it seems like there is a huge opportunity for a lot of these musicians to get some work as babysitters,” Jason wrote. “Is there some type of app or page where musicians interested in this type of thing could coordinate their services? They could even offer music lessons!”
If my kids weren’t almost all grown, I’d take you up on that Jason.
I’ve no doubt that the River Region’s artists and venues will come out stronger than ever on the other side of the coronavirus threat. It’s just going to take patience, and lots and lots of hand sanitizer.
Elbow bumps to all of you affected by this. Be smart and be safe.
Help local theater out
I understand how tempting it might be to want a refund for a cancelled show, and Alabama Shakespeare Festival has a lot of shows and events they’ve been forced to shut down, some before they've even hit the stage.
I was really looking forward to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" outside in the garden. After speaking to some of the young actors in those roles, I know they were also.
Having these productions shut down is going to hit ASF, and other local theater companies, really hard.
Instead of a refund, why not pay it forward? Turn your ticket into a donation to the theater, or at the very least use them as credit for a future show. That would be a major help.
To give ASF a hand, contact the box office between noon and 5 p.m. Monday-Friday at 334-271-5353, or email them at BoxOffice@asf.net.
Do not go there in person. The whole point of closing productions at ASF is to help prevent the virus’ spread.
Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com.
2020-03-15 18:04:50Z
https://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/story/entertainment/2020/03/15/coronavirus-and-entertainment-we-will-get-past-great-arts-pause/5053257002/
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