Amy Marie McCleary admits it: She was a little scared.
COVID-19’s a scary thing, after all. Yet there she was, going back to work recently at Broadway Palm dinner theater.
She had a show to do, and so did the rest of her cast for “The Sound of Music.”
McCleary had mixed feelings about the whole thing, obviously. She feared the virus, but she also felt excited to be directing and choreographing musicals again.
“It’s a fine line,” she says, “and I battle with it daily.”
But things changed once they started rehearsing. And, suddenly, everything felt better.
“It was a lightness that I have not felt in months,” McCleary says. “It’s such a joy to be doing what I love doing again.”
Broadway Palm hopes theater fans feel the same way.
“I continue to be cautiously optimistic,” says owner Will Prather. “I do believe people are looking for things to do.”
The theater quietly reopened two weeks ago with the comedy “Love, Sex and the IRS,” which continues through Sunday, June 21. That show's been operating at just 25 percent of the theater's usual 448-seat capacity.
Now Broadway Palm's stepping up to 50 percent with its previously scheduled “The Sound of Music," opening June 25.
It was good to get back to work again, says actor Tad Cameron, who plays Leslie Arthur in “Love, Sex and the IRS.” Every other actor he knows is out of work right now.
“I just have to keep reminding myself how lucky I am,” Cameron says. “It’s been really, really nice, actually.
“It’s definitely not business as usual. But it’s a return to normalcy.”
As normal as things can be during a pandemic, anyway.
A lot has changed at Broadway Palm since March, when the dinner theater closed because of the coronavirus. Some of the changes visitors can expect:
- No more buffet meals. They’ve been replaced by served meals.
- Tables and seating have been rearranged to allow for social distancing.
- All employees are wearing masks and other protective gear. Their temperatures are taken when they enter the building.
- Customers are encouraged to wear face masks, too, but it’s not required.
- Sanitizer stations can be found throughout the building
Prather says he’s doing everything he can to minimize the risk for his audiences and his employees. That includes sanitizing employees' masks under UV light when they're not being worn and installing shower curtains between costumes on their racks.
“It’s important that people feel safe,” he says. “So we’re erring on the side of caution to make it as safe as possible.”
So far, Broadway Palm has been the only stage theater to reopen in Southwest Florida — and Prather says he’s probably one of the first in the nation, too.
One big reason for that: Restaurants were allowed to reopen in Florida before theaters, and Broadway Palm operates under a restaurant license. It’s the only dinner theater in Southwest Florida.
Still, Prather doesn’t know what the future holds for Broadway Palm and its employees — reduced from about 227 before COVID-19 (including seasonal employees) to about 60 now. He hopes to hire more of his laid-off employees over the summer.
Of course, that all depends on how audiences respond. So far, at 25 percent capacity, the theater has been between 50- to 70-percent full every night, he says.
What happens when “The Sound of Music” opens and the theater goes to a 50-percent house of 224 seats? Prather doesn’t know. But he hopes the big-name musical and the theater's just-announced 2020-21 season will bring people back.
That hit-packed season includes the ABBA musical “Mamma Mia!,” the stage adaptation of the TV sitcom “Happy Days,” the recent Broadway smash “A Bronx Tale” and the Gloria Estefan musical “On Your Feet.”
“I’m very excited,” Prather says. “I just feel we have a really strong season.”
One thing in his favor: They’re all happy, feel-good shows — something Prather predicts people want right about now. People want to laugh and have fun, he says.
Judging from the audiences at “Love, Sex and the IRS,” that appears to be true. Just ask actor Kelly Legarreta, who plays Vivian Trachtman.
Legarreta didn't know what to expect when the comedy opened June 4. Then she saw the audience’s reactions.
“They seemed grateful,” Legarreta says. “They were whooping and hollering. And almost every night, we’ve received a standing ovation, which is just incredible. They’re so happy.”
Her co-star, Cameron, says it’s been thrilling to see that response.
“They just laugh their head off through the whole show,” he says. “It’s really nice to see. … My sense is that people are as happy to be at the show as we are.”
And it’s not just good for the audience. It’s been medicine for the actors, too.
Sure, it was scary at first. But it’s good to start doing normal things again and feel a little hopeful about the future, Legarreta says.
“I think we’re all hesitant but hopeful,” she says. “And with everything that’s been going on, hope is desperately needed.
“So it’s been good for my heart to hear laughter and to go in and do my job and feel a little bit of normalcy.”
Connect with this reporter: Charles Runnells (Facebook), @charlesrunnells (Twitter), @crunnells1 (Instagram)
Did you know?: Southwest Florida Event Center closes permanently in Bonita Springs over coronavirus, industry concerns
More: How theaters, comedy clubs, movie houses plan to emerge from COVID-19 pandemic
Broadway Palm's new season
The dinner theater's current and upcoming shows on its main stage and smaller Off Broadway Palm Theatre:
- “Love, Sex and the IRS” (Now through June 21)
- “The Sound of Music” (June 25-Aug. 8)
- “Dean Martin Variety Hour” (Aug. 20-Sept. 26)
- “Social Security” (Sept. 24-Oct. 31 in the Off Broadway Palm)
- “Mamma Mia!” (Oct. 1-Nov. 14)
- “The Great American Trailer Park Christmas Musical” (Nov. 12-Dec. 26 in the Off Broadway Palm)
- “Holiday Inn” (Nov. 19-Dec. 26)
- “Happy Days: The Musical” (Dec. 31-Feb. 14)
- “‘Til Theft Do Us Part” (Jan. 14-March 6 in the Off Broadway Palm)
- “On Your Feet” (Feb. 18-April 10)
- “Nana Does Vegas” (March 11-April 25 in the Off Broadway Palm)
- “A Bronx Tale” (April 15-May 22)
- “Beehive: The 60s Musical (May 27-June 26, 2021)
- “Grease” (July 1-Aug. 14, 2021)
- “Farce of Nature” (June 3-July 25, 2021 in the Off Broadway Palm)
Tickets for all shows are $48-$73. For more information, call 278-4422 or visit BroadwayPalm.com.
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Broadway Palm reopens with 'Sound of Music' and 'IRS.' And the audiences are there. - News-Press
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