May 17, 2020 6 min read

As the nation approaches its summer months, the threat of festivals, concerts and events being canceled as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak is imminent. Though some states are beginning to enter into the first stages of their reopening plans, the immediate future for live entertainment is murky at best.

John Healey, executive theater manager at the Weinberg Center for the Arts in Frederick, Md., said while the state might be opening slowly in the coming weeks, the days of seeing a show in an entertainment venue with maximum spectators is still a ways away.

“I’m hearing December at the earliest for full capacity,” he said, “and as far out as 2023 for Broadway to reopen. Until there’s a vaccine, you’re not going to have people feel safe. Even once you say, ‘OK, we’re going to come back now,’ it’s going to take a while for people to say, ‘I feel safe enough to buy a ticket and sit next to 1,000 people.'”

In the meantime, he said the staff at the theater, which can host a little more than 1,100 patrons, has been exploring virtual options for programming until it’s safe to open back up. He also said they are exploring the possibility of limited-seating events – an approach that would allow the venue to seat 293 people.

Here is a look at how some entertainment venues in nearby states are coping with the pandemic.

Pennsylvania

In Burgettstown, the popular outdoor concert venue S&T Bank Music Park has three scheduled concerts in mid-June that have yet to be canceled or postponed. They include bands like Maroon 5, Megadeth and Nickelback. The venue posted Monday that it’s working with artists to bring ticket holders the most updated information as quickly as possible.

The venue operates through Live Nation, which has rescheduled some of its summer concerts, like one featuring the Dave Matthews Band, at the pavilion to next year. Live Nation announced it would honor already purchased tickets for the new date of that show or consider requests for refunds.

The venue posted on its Facebook page last month about Live Nation’s “Ticket Relief Plan,” which includes refund options if a show is canceled or postponed due to the pandemic.

“We know how important live events are to each of you and we thank you for your patience as we all continue to work through these unprecedented times together,” the Live Nation post read. “For everyone missing concerts as much as we are, just know we will be here ready to start the show, when we can all experience the magic of live music together again.”

Other events in Washington County, Pennsylvania, are in limbo as well. The Monongahela Aquatorium hosts festivals, parties and concerts throughout the season, but this this around, things continue to be up in the air.

“We haven’t made any decisions,” said Claudia Williams, who’s on the board of directors for the nonprofit venue, owned by the city of Monongahela. “We have bookings pending, but we haven’t canceled or confirmed them.”

Other major summer festivals, events and parades – such as its first-ever Pride Festival and its annual Whiskey Rebellion Festival – have had to be canceled in Washington County. The Whiskey Rebellion is a four-day celebration of Washington’s history. It brings large crowds each year, but this year the festival’s committee decided to cancel it out of caution amid the pandemic.

“We felt that although it’s a difficult decision, it absolutely had to be made that way,” said festival co-chair Joseph Piszczor. “We are going to try to have some activities virtually to keep the celebration alive. These events, especially the Whiskey Rebellion, give our community a lot of opportunity to connect and engage with each other.”

Washington Mayor Scott Putnam said that while he understands the decision, canceling the popular festival will be “a crushing blow to the city and local economy.”

“The numbers are around 20,000 that come to our downtown,” he said. “Many are making that trip for the first time, and many come back year to year.”

West Virginia

As concern about and cases of the coronavirus spread, venues around West Virginia canceled or rescheduled events from country concerts featuring Gary Allan and Trace Adkins to musical productions like “An American in Paris.”

In Parkersburg, the first two performances of the popular Point Park Concert Series – which brings tribute acts to the amphitheater on the Ohio River – have been canceled. The Actors Guild of Parkersburg community theater group postponed its productions of “The Producers,” “Hallelujah Girls” and “Rock of Ages,” with no new dates set.

Parkersburg’s historic Smoot Theatre was set to close out its season on April 17 with the musical “Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story.” It has since been rescheduled for Oct. 31, with the 2020-21 season now pushed back to November rather than its usual August or September start, said Felice Jorgeson, theater director.

“We don’t know when we can even open,” she said. “Who wants to sit that close to other people?”

As one season comes to a close, the mostly volunteer-run theater’s cash level often gets low while season passes and donations are solicited.

“So the checks come in the mail, and the bank account gets full again,” Jorgeson said. “Our season patrons are our lifeblood.”

Ohio

In Marietta, Ohio, sits a building that’s more than 100 years old – the People’s Bank Theatre. The historic theatre was reopened in 2016 after 15 years of fundraising to restore the building back to its former glory.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, however, the theatre is temporarily closed and all events have been rescheduled.

Executive director Hunt Brawley said they were fortunate to be able to reschedule artist performances. He said the theatre is looking at different options and ideas to bring their entertainment to the public.

“We’re looking at ways to do something that may not be part of the normal repertoire, anything from a live stream event from our stage or a partial audience,” Brawley said. “We’ve talked about a number of events within the theatre that we can do – maybe that’s with limited numbers, not our full capacity.”

He added that organizers have also discussed staging outside events or fundraisers to help generate revenue.

Brawley then said that they hope their closure doesn’t extend much longer and he’s hoping for guidance from Ohio’s governor, Mike DeWine.

“I think a lot of us [in the theatre industry] realize we’re going to be the last [to open],” he said. “We’re a meeting space, close proximity with large numbers of people. We’re just kind of hoping for the best, but I try to keep things moving forward.”

He said how the theatre will open depends on the state’s guidelines and how the theatre’s board feels about reopening.

Katie Anderson, Evan Bevins and LynAnne Vucovich contributed to this story.