Winni Playhouse calls off summer productions

MEREDITH — Canceling their schedule of summer productions might sound bad, said Neil Pankhurst, artistic director of the Winnipesaukee Playhouse, but there are things that would be worse.

“And that’s doing a summer season and no one comes,” he said.

On Tuesday, the nonprofit organization announced that it would stay closed for all of the summer, which is usually when the theater puts on its award-winning professional productions. Pankhurst said the playhouse’s leadership and board of trustees was left with no other choice.

“I knew the writing was on the cards, because, ultimately, it really is the only safe option that we have right now,” Pankhurst said.

Concerns over the COVID-19 virus meant that it was not possible to stage large professional productions this summer without jeopardizing the safety of cast, crew, volunteers and audience members. Those productions which were scheduled for 2020 will instead be postponed to the summer of next year. Meanwhile, the playhouse is exploring the idea of holding its summer integrated arts program, a kind of theater camp for ages 5-18, in an online space.

Pankhurst said he hopes to be able to hold some in-person productions later this year, including some community theater, a couple of smaller professional shows and their traditional holiday Panto. He said each of those will be evaluated on their own merits and timeline.

Pankhurst noted that the Winnipesaukee Playhouse was in good company, as theater companies near and far are facing a difficult reality.

Nancy Barry, director of the Interlakes Summer Theater, another professional theater company in Meredith, did not return a request for comment.

“The biggest issue for all venues is the one of social distancing,” Pankhurst said. Keeping a distance of six feet between oneself and other people is “incredibly necessary,” he noted. That gap will prevent the spread of the virus, though it also makes it very difficult to cover the costs of putting on a play, especially the lush productions that summer theater fans have come to expect.

“The musical is dead for the foreseeable future, because they are so big and expensive to stage. If social distancing is put in place, you can have up to 75% reduction in the number of people who can come and see the show. Because of those restrictions, putting on those shows would be worse than not doing shows at all. You would lose money – potentially lots of money,” Pankhurst said.

He expects those factors to be in place until a vaccine is widely available, or until some other development occurs to relieve the public’s concern about infection.

The canceling of the summer productions means that the playhouse will take a measured loss, Pankhurst said, but it’s one the organization can absorb, at least for now.

“We might all die of a slow bleed – I’m not convinced that every theater company will make it through this. I’m very hopeful that we’re not one that’s going out of business, but if it goes on long enough, we will,” Pankhurst said.

A long summer ahead

Sandra Marshall, executive director of the Meredith Area Chamber of Commerce, said the news of the Winnipesaukee Playhouse’s season is yet one more void in a summer calendar that is usually flush with festivals and artistic attractions.

“I feel like we’re in for a really slow start, a really long summer. I keep seeing all of these things that are being canceled or postponed,” Marshall said. “I think this is going to be a summer that is going to be a low-key summer. It is going to be about being with your family, not going out to events.”

People will still come to places like Meredith, Marshall said. On Wednesday, she said she had just taken a call from a woman who lives in Long Island, New York, who was simply looking for someplace she could relax and escape.

“I think that’s what we’re going to see, we’re going to see people just want to go somewhere they can take a deep breath,” Marshall said.