A lesson in flexibility
The ability to adapt and change with the times has been an unwritten motto of theatre for centuries. As we go into every season, every production and every time we step foot on stage, we know that things don’t always go as planned. Since March of 2020, the pandemic and the fire have magnified our need to be flexible as even our best-laid plans were occasionally thwarted by outside forces.
And now, with our return to Queens Road on the horizon, there are still things beyond our control.
Unfortunately, our construction team at Roby Commercial has experienced significant delays and our seating manufacturer at Learning Environments is struggling to meet the demands of the industry, causing our rebuild to fall considerably behind schedule. We had built in a safety cushion by waiting until late October to open Season 95, but now we are learning that we may need a slightly bigger cushion.
The good news is that we are still moving back home to Queens Road and we are still planning to produce the full seven-show season that we announced in the spring. Thanks to our dedicated and generous production teams, we are able to shift the season to a somewhat unconventional, but practical, schedule.
These changes include:
Opening Season 95 in November with a two-week run of Misery. This will be our “soft opening” on Queens Road and audience members will get a sneak peek at the building in progress. While it will be functional for the production and audiences, we will still be waiting on our seating and continuing to make changes to improve the space.
In January of 2023, we will celebrate our true grand reopening with the long-awaited Charlotte premiere of Something Rotten!
The remainder of the season, including A Christmas Carol in December, will not be affected by these changes.
This affords us the opportunity to give each show the attention it needs to live up to the level of quality that we expect. We take tremendous pride in our work and the quality and integrity of our productions is not something we are willing to compromise.
We had hoped to mark this fall with a grand reopening and a spectacular musical production, but we will have to wait just a couple of extra months for that moment while we complete the finishing touches and break in new equipment. Still, we are grateful that we will be able to invite audiences in during the last phase to finish the journey with us.
We know this has not been easy on you, our supporters, and we can’t tell you how many sleepless nights we have had over these past several years. We hope that you will remain flexible with us during these changes and join us this Fall as we ease into our space with Misery and our 16th annual production of A Christmas Carol. Of course, stay tuned for opportunities to help us complete our list of building projects and don’t miss our grand reopening in January 2023 with Something Rotten!
As always, we're grateful for your continued support as we work our way back home! See you this fall!
