CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — Nearly 2500 people visited the Sugarloaf Mountain Amphitheater in Chillicothe Ohio over Fathers Day weekend. For nearly all of them, it was their first trip with some sense of “normalcy” in well over a year.
“We had people from 13 different states on opening weekend” said Tecumseh! producer, Brandon Smith.
“We were hoping to get around 400 people per night this summer. We averaged double that in our first three performances. People are ready to get out, and now that we have a good portion of the population fully vaccinated in our area, why shouldn’t they? I want to get out there too, but I’m going to have to wait until our season is over!”
At a capacity of nearly 2000 seats, the outdoor theater in Chillicothe is one of the largest theaters in America to re-open.
“The Lost Colony and Unto These Hills, both in North Carolina, are open as well. There’s a few other large outdoor theaters in the process of re-opening in Texas, Oregon, Utah, Kentucky and elsewhere. But the Colony, and Hills and us were really the first big three. We, along with dozens of other theaters all over the country, had been working for months on how to do it safely. Outdoor theatre is setting the standard for the rest of the world on this. If we can get it right, so can Broadway. And they are watching.” said Smith.
Covid wasn’t the only hurdle that the producers of Tecumseh! had to face in getting the production back on the stage after a year of being closed.
“We were fully prepared to operate under some pretty severe restrictions. Thankfully, we don’t have to, but COVID is still directing our lives in a number of ways. The least of which certainly is not, financially. While sales are good right now, we have to recover from a massive loss of income. On top of that, big national banks are coming after performing arts groups now, and we got caught up in that. Our credit line got called with no notice, leaving us in a very precarious position. Thankfully, one of our local banks, Kingston Bank, stepped to the plate and in a very real way saved the season at the last minute.
And then there is the shuttered venues operators grant, part of the American Rescue Package. The promise of those dollars coming in for dying organizations is still unrealized. We applies 8 weeks ago, after an 8 week delay because of website issues. And it was an additional 8 week wait prior to the that becasue….we’re not really sure. But small businesses like ours are going under every day, and there is money to help them. The SBA must work faster and more efficiently to get those dollars allocated. It’s a life and death situation. Add to all of that, we had to figure out how to stage the show with half the staff we normally have, and it was became a monumental task. But I’m so proud of what we’ve done!” Smith said.
As theaters all over American are finalizing plans for their fall and winter seasons, outdoor theaters are largely open and attracting large crowds. When Broadway re-opens this fall, there will have already been hundreds of thousands of theatergoers take in productions all over America. Many traditional theater companies created outdoor space to perform in over the past year. Some even purchased or rented old drive in movie theaters.
Smith added “Theatre in the outdoors is something incredibly special. It is the most direct lineage to the birthplace of modern western theatre. The Greeks, the Romans, Shakespeare…all produced outdoors. And the Outdoor Historical Drama is a grandly American art form which we can all still attain passage to. Tickets are not expensive for these shows. It is the Peoples’ Theatre, and the fact that outdoor theaters are leading the way back for the rest of the performing arts industry is a beautiful thing.”
Tickets for Tecumseh! are on sale now at www.tecumsehdrama.com