Theatre By The Sea postpones 2020 summer season

THEATRE BY THE SEA has postponed its 2020 summer season due to the COVID-19 pandemic. / COURTESY THEATRE BY THE SEA

SOUTH KINGSTOWN – Theatre By The Sea has postponed its summer season until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the theater announced April 22.

The decision was made “out of concern for the health and safety of audiences, performers, musicians, crew members and staff,” the theater said in a news release.

Theatre By The Sea was scheduled to hold four musicals, including “Million Dollar Quartet,” “Footloose,” “Funny Girl” and “Kinky Boots,” as well as a planned encore presentation of “Mamma Mia!” this summer. According to the theater’s website, all of the shows have been rescheduled for next summer.

Theater owner and producer Bill Hanney said in a statement that even though he is “heartbroken” not seeing audience members this summer, he felt it was “best to err on the side of caution and safety” to postpone the performances to next year. He also said the theater is currently in communication with the publishing houses in order to secure the licensing rights for the five shows.

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Theatre By The Sea said audience members can retain their tickets for upcoming shows, as well as help the theater by purchasing gift certificates, subscriptions or additional tickets.

“As it has been said, ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder,’ so it will be that much sweeter when we can all be reunited next summer,” Hanney said. “This is just an intermission.”

The coronavirus has directly impacted the Theatre By The Sea community. Steven Richard, the theater’s production and event photographer, recently died due to complications of COVID-19, according to the theater’s website.

Richard’s wife, Karen Nascembeni, Theatre By The Sea director of corporate and community relations, also contracted the virus and “continues her hard battle to recover from COVID-19,” the website states.

James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.

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