COVID-19 Updates

by | Mar 24, 2020 | Blog

COVID-19 UPDATES

July 23rd, 2020

In light of the uncertainty surrounding the months ahead, we have made the decision to delay early online ticket sales for season subscribers, which were slated to begin on August 5th, 2020.

It was our hope that we would be able to announce updated fall programming to you around this time. Unfortunately, in the intervening six weeks, the picture for this fall and beyond has become fuzzier, not clearer. As a result, our plans for the upcoming season remain on hold as we await new guidelines from state and federal governments. For the safety of our volunteers and patrons, we are planning update events with cast and crew parameters that will allow us to maintain social distancing on and offstage. We will announce these changes as soon as we receive more relevant guidance from the state government.

Though our stage lights remain dark, we are committed to serving our community and our mission through this crisis. While nothing can replace the entertainment, enlightenment and education that comes from live theatre, we are doing everything we can to serve you, our patrons, during this time.

We’re doing that in a number of ways, including:

·         Online summer camp

·         Virtual classes in our School of Theatre Arts

·         Mobile concerts through our Driveway Cabaret series

·         A virtual production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream for our Summer Intensive program

If you have questions or concerns, please email us at tickets@grct.org. Please remember, we are working remotely and are unable to monitor our phone.

5/1/2020

It is with heavy hearts that we must inform you that we have been forced to cancel our scheduled performances of The Wiz (5/29 – 6/21) and our SRTI productions, Disney’s High School Musical and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (7/24 – 8/2). While this decision is a difficult one to make, it is necessary to protect the health and well-being of our casts, production team, and our community at large.

As with previous cancellations, we will be offering vouchers for next season, and/or the ability to donate the cost of your ticket back to the theatre. Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is a nonprofit organization, and we put as many of our financial resources as possible into our productions. As a result, we rely heavily on ticket sales and donations from our community for revenue. Unfortunately, we are experiencing a significant loss of revenue as a result of our closure. With that in mind, it is our hope that you strongly consider donating the cost of your ticket back to the theatre.

To indicate your preferences, please fill out the form at the following link: https://forms.gle/ce8E3gEbX7R3oZJb6….

Our ticket staff will process your request as soon as possible. Please understand that our ticket staff has extremely limited resources at this time due to the Stay Home, Stay Safe executive order. We ask for your patience and will process your request as soon as possible. With that in mind, we ask that you please refrain from calling or emailing our ticket office at this time.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through uncertain times – and thank you for your ongoing support of Civic Theatre. We hope to see you at the Meijer Majestic Theatre again soon.

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3/23/2020

Due to the evolving situation surrounding COVID-19 and keeping in compliance with Governor Whitmer’s Executive Order, we have made the decision to cancel the run of Junie B. Jones the Musical, which was scheduled for April 24-May 3, 2020. It is impossible for our cast and crew to hold rehearsals at this time, and for the foreseeable future.

Each Junie B. Jones ticketholder will receive a voucher for a ticket of equal value during our 2020/21 season. These productions include:

  • Getting to Know…Cinderella (a one-hour youth version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein classic)
    • October 16-25, 2020
  • Dragons Love Tacos
    • April 23-May 2, 2021
  • The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
    • July 23-August 1, 2021


Please do not call or email our office at this time. Due to social distancing guidelines, we do not have staff on hand to process incoming inquiries. Please expect vouchers to come via mail in the weeks ahead.

Please understand that we will not be offering refunds for Junie B. Jones tickets. As with other arts organizations in our community, it is our longstanding policy that ticket sales are final and refunds are not offered. We are making exceptions to this policy during these unprecedented times by issuing vouchers to future performances to ticket holders.

Grand Rapids Civic Theatre is a nonprofit organization, and we put as many of our financial resources as possible into our productions. As a result, we rely heavily on ticket sales and donations from our community for revenue. During this time of closure, we expect that our loss of revenue will be significant, and will present significant financial hardship for Civic Theatre.

You can help us financially during this time. Please consider tearing up your voucher for Junie B. Jones and recycling it in lieu of redeeming it for a future performance. Alternatively, please consider making a donation to Grand Rapids Civic Theatre online here.

Thank you for your understanding and patience as we work through uncertain times – and thank you for your ongoing support of Civic Theatre. Stay tuned to our Facebook page and website for information on upcoming events. We hope to see you at the Meijer Majestic Theatre again soon.

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3/13/2020

It is with heavy hearts that we announce that we will be indefinitely postponing the remainder of our performances of Matilda: The Musical. As you all know, with the COVID-19 pandemic, new information and guidelines are coming in constantly. In an effort to keep up with guidelines from trusted health organizations, we are making the decision to cancel. This decision is not an easy one, nor one we take lightly, but one that we feel is necessary to protect the health and well-being of our volunteers, our patrons, and our community at large.

MATILDA TICKETHOLDERS:
Our Box Office staff will be contacting you regarding your tickets. You can receive a voucher for a future performance, or donate the cost of the tickets to the theatre. At a minimum, we anticipate virtually no revenue for the next 90 days, so your tax deductible ticket donation will be very appreciated!

PROTECT OUR FUTURE
These are trying times for all arts organizations. Any time we must cancel performances, we suffer considerable financial hardship. It is our hope that our patrons will consider donating the cost of their ticket back to Grand Rapids Civic Theatre as we prepare to weather this storm. If you are interested in donating, you may do so here. For thousands of years, the storytellers of the theatre have been faced with hardships. For thousands of years, we’ve come out on the other side. We pride ourselves on being our community’s storytellers, and plan to continue that mission for decades to come. With your continued support, we will press on – together.

As this is an ever-changing situation, we will post future updates here as well.