COVID-19 cancellations cost Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park thousands in losses

To be or not to be? Whether a show goes on — or performances are canceled or postponed — still often depends on COVID-19.

"I didn't dream we would have still had this issue. But we do. ... People think it's over, but it's really not," said Kathryn McGill, Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park's executive and artistic director and co-founder.

"I don't say we let our guard down, but we were lulled into a false sense of security ... because we didn't have any cases of COVID of until 'Hamlet.' And then, 'bam.'"

Last month, the long-running Oklahoma City theater was forced to cancel more than half its planned outdoor performances of William Shakespeare's classic tragedy after a COVID outbreak among the cast.

Oklahoma Shakespeare is hardly alone as it continues to put on live shows while coping with the coronavirus. For instance, just days after launching its first tour since 2018, Grammy-nominated alt-rockers Paramore had to reschedule two shows, including an OKC concert at The Criterion, due to a COVID case in its touring party.

But as a nonprofit professional theater, the effects can be tougher to absorb.

"We probably lost about $20,000 ... and because we're a small organization, $20,000 is a lot for us to lose in box office," McGill said.

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Even with understudies, COVID outbreak costs OKC theater shows

Late in Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet's conniving uncle, King Claudius — played with assured oiliness by Wil Rogers in Oklahoma Shakespeare's latest production — comments on how difficulties can quickly pile up, declaring, “When sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions."

The famed quote proved true for Oklahoma Shakespeare when lead actor Kaleb Michael Bruza tested positive for COVID-19 two days before the Sept. 9 opening-night performance in the theater's Shakespeare Gardens outdoor venue. Understudy Joseph Hoffman took over the title role, but by the time the proverbial curtain dropped on the first performance, the virus had spread among the cast.

Since live theatrical performances have resumed, the lingering coronavirus has spotlighted the importance of understudies who are ready to go on at a moment's notice when a cast member gets sick. But especially at small theaters, it's common practice for understudies to cover multiple roles, so when multiple actors get sick, the odds of having enough coverage often diminish rapidly.

"We had a total of five people get COVID, and it was just too many for us to cover. So, we had to wait until everybody got well," McGill said. "We have understudies, but we have to pay the understudies, too. Because we do Shakespeare, it's a large cast — at least 12 people. If you were to try to get everybody an understudy ... we just can't afford that."

Ultimately, Oklahoma Shakespeare had to cancel seven of its 10 planned performances of "Hamlet": six were scrapped due to the COVID outbreak, and the Sept. 10 show was rained out.

"It's just been one thing after another, but I take all of this with a grain of salt. When you do outdoor theater for 38 years, it's like, 'OK.' But the COVID thing was a new hitch," McGill said.

After 'Hamlet's' sold-out closing, theater moves on to ghostly comedy

Ahead of Oklahoma Shakespeare's closing performance of "Hamlet," understudy Lindsey Rollins addressed the audience several times, encouraging attendees to move their blankets and lawn chairs closer together to allow more patrons to find a spot in the Shakespeare Gardens. Both the Sept. 24 and 25 shows were sold out, as theatergoers who had previously been denied crowded into the company's Paseo Arts District outdoor space to see The Bard's haunting tale of betrayal, madness and revenge.

Since Bruza missed so much rehearsal and performance time, Hoffman finished out the run as the titular prince of Denmark, delivering Hamlet's signature soliloquies and snappy retorts with sarcastic humor. His sardonic attitude matched his hoodie: Directed by Rex Daugherty with costume design by Chloe Mullin, the production dressed its players in contemporary clothing, emphasizing the enduring timeliness of the Shakespearean tragedy.

"We thought about extending it a weekend ... but it was just going to be a nightmare trying to arrange it," McGill said. "Our actors are not full-time actors, so they have lives and have made plans."

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The company also needed to move on to rehearsing its next production: Noel Coward's ghostly comedy "Blithe Spirit," with performances Oct. 21-Nov. 5 inside its Paseo black box theater.

The small professional theater plans to close its 38th season indoors with the merry return of its original holiday production "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker" Dec. 9-23.

"We followed all the guidelines: We tested everybody three times a week (for 'Hamlet'). ... But I think we're going to go to probably testing everybody every day and staying fully masked until performances, because this was such a nightmare," McGill said.

"We just got a donation of a bunch of tests. So, we're going to use them all up, because we were buying tests, and they were pretty expensive. You know, it adds up. ... We have all these special HEPA filters we had to purchase because of COVID, too, but the air in the black box is pristine."

Governor vetoes ARPA funds for Oklahoma Arts Council grant program

When the pandemic forced Oklahoma Shakespeare to cancel the remainder of its season in spring 2020, a government Paycheck Protection Program loan as well as emergency funding through Allied Arts and the state Arts Council helped sustain the nonprofit organization.

Despite suffering another big loss with "Hamlet," the theater may not be able to access those types of funds this time. Gov. Kevin Stitt recently vetoed $10 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding state lawmakers had approved for the Oklahoma Arts Council to offer grants to nonprofits affected by COVID.

Stitt also vetoed $8.2 million for the Oklahoma Education Television Authority (OETA) and $6 million for the Oklahoma State Department of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, saying that ARPA funding for the three agencies' proposed projects could be better spent elsewhere.

The state legislature has opted not reconvene a special session to attempt to override the vetoes. Instead, lawmakers will wait until a new legislative session next year to determine how to spend the state's remaining ARPA funds.

"While naturally disappointed, the Oklahoma Arts Council and its ARPA proposal partners, Allied Arts and Arts Alliance Tulsa, remain hopeful that state leaders will continue to seek solutions to assist the hard-hit and disproportionately affected nonprofit arts and cultural sector in recovering and rebuilding from the pandemic," the state Arts Council said in a statement.

Oklahoma Shakespeare isn't waiting in the wings for any ARPA drama to play out, though. The nonprofit has launched its annual autumn donor campaign and is planning a Halloween-theme fundraiser with Oklahoma ShakesFEAR in the Dark, a spooky cocktail party for adults set for Oct. 25 at a secret Quail Creek location.

The company also is planning its second annual Children's Halloween Festival, a free family event, for Oct. 29 in its Shakespeare Gardens and will be seeking donations there.

"Then, we're just going to have to pinch pennies until the end of the year," McGill said. "But we're going on with the shows."

OKLAHOMA SHAKESPEARE UPCOMING EVENTS

• Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit": Performances Oct. 21-Nov. 5, black box theater, 2920 Paseo.

• Oklahoma ShakesFEAR in the Dark grown-up cocktail party: 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Oct. 25, a secret OKC location.

• The Children's Halloween Festival: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 29, Shakespeare Gardens in the Paseo.

• "Jane Austen's Christmas Cracker": Performances Dec. 9-23, black box theater.

• Tickets and information: https://www.okshakes.org.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma Shakespeare in the Park loses thousands due to COVID closures