Theater wasn’t included in Gov. Steve Sisolak’s Phase 1 reopening; no form of entertainment was. The Utah Shakespeare Festival has cancelled its summer 2020 season; Super Summer Theatre has been postponed. This is sad, not least for the companies themselves. If you miss going to the theater even a tenth as much as the people who make their living off it, then you should check out these upcoming lockdown workarounds. They’re as creative as you’d expect from … a bunch of creatives.
LAS VEGAS LITTLE THEATRE
The city’s all-volunteer nonprofit theater company has cancelled its shows through June. According to the website, they’re still planning to produce Brighton Beach Memoirs in July. And, you can get your theater nerd on this Sunday, May 17, at 3 p.m. during their online trivia night.
Joining is pretty straightforward. You just assemble a team of five or fewer people, arrange some way to confer in real time (I prefer GroupMe, but that’s me), and then join the live event on the Las Vegas Little Theatre’s Facebook Page. One team member will be responsible for filling out the answer sheet. There’s a suggested donation of $20 that will be put toward future productions, but technically the fun is free.
For questions, the company suggests visiting the website or contacting the box office at 702-362-7996 Monday 4-8 p.m., Wednesday and Friday 10 a.m.-1 p.m., or Saturday 9 a.m.-12 p.m.
Meantime, you can follow the Little Theater on Instagram to keep updated on its other ongoing projects, such as virtual auditions for Sondheim’s Putting it Together.
MAJESTIC REPERTORY THEATRE
No theater director seems to have as much energy or will to make something work in lockdown as Majestic’s Troy Heard, who has been relentlessly creating content for Instagram and Facebook (and promoting it on Twitter). Heard’s latest brainchild uses the company’s retail license to raise money for its dramatic pursuits.
Called Drive-Through Theatre, it basically involves buying a Majestic-logoed face mask and T-shirt, arriving at the theater at an appointed time, and having the gear delivered to your car by acrobats, actors, and clowns. Nobody’s saying they’re performing (they’re performing), nobody touches or gets within less than six feet of anybody else, and you never get out of your car. Voila! State rules abided by. It costs $50 and is open to adults 18 and older. To reserve a spot, click here. The theater is located at 1217 Main Street (but note that drive-through participants will be staged on an adjacent street before their arrival time).
Majestic Rep in headier, less-pandemic days.
