The show must go on…just not right now.
The Sapulpa Community Theatre board of Directors has announced the theatre will be canceling the remainder of its 2020 season, effective immediately, according to an announcement made on their website Tuesday evening.
“After much discussion, we have decided to cancel the final show of the 2020 season due to health concerns and uncertainty in the coming fall/winter months,” the notice said.
The announcement comes after a successful but modified showing of Agatha Christie’s Black Coffee. The two-weekend showing of Agatha Christie’s popular whodunnit story did surprisingly well, despite a reduced admission capacity and the removal of concessions and the after-show cast greetings.
Theatre Board President Monica Webb says Black Coffee was a great experiment, but that it wasn’t sustainable. “We decided to stick a toe in the waters to see what live theatre was going to be like in a pandemic,” she said. “For safety reasons, we only opened at half capacity to maintain social distancing. We wanted to provide to the community an escape from the troubling times we live in, so we went forward with Black Coffee which was well received by most.”
Webb said that the prospect of “going dark” for the remainder of 2020 was a matter of survival. “A lot of people do not realize that a small community theatre relies on ticket sales and donations…We have seen on the news that a lot of businesses are closing permanently as a result of the pandemic.”
Webb pitched the idea of going dark to the Board of Directors (full disclosure: Sapulpa Times Publisher Micah Choquette is a member of this board) shortly after Black Coffee wrapped and it was unanimously approved.
Webb believes that by closing for the remainder of the season, the theatre will be able to save money on building costs and royalties, and open stronger in 2021—hopefully at full capacity.
“If we save the money, put our heads down, and weather the storm, we will come out the other side and preserve the magic of live theatre and Sapulpa Community Theatre for generations to come,” Webb said.
The cancellation of the remainder of the season means there will be no Christmas-themed play in December, typically one of the theatre’s most populated sessions. This year’s show, “The Importance of Being Uncle Roscoe,” is a comedy by Pat Cook about a family in dire straits being visited by two con men during the Christmas season. It’s not known if the show will be rescheduled for 2021.
The theatre board says 2020 Season Ticket holders will have their remaining flex tickets honored when they resume production in 2021.
