It’s a marvelous summer for MoonDance: Post-pandemic, outdoor venue busier than ever
Toward the end of performing “It’s Time to Dance” during the Saturday night show of “Cabaret for Change” by ACTivate theater at the MoonDance Amphitheater, Rylie Sudduth and Eliza Mulllins exclaim, “It’s more than I wished for!”
In the context of the Broadway and Netflix hit musical, they were referring to the inclusive prom that they’ve had to fight parents and school administrators to present. But in the context of a Memorial Day weekend show, it could just as easily refer to the opportunity to perform on stage in front of a live audience, unmasked.
“When we booked this show, it was with the understanding that it might not happen,” said ACTivate founder and director Vanessa Becker Weig.
Another surge in coronavirus cases could have brought on renewed restrictions. If the student training company, that formed on Zoom during the COVID-19 pandemic, could just perform for an audience, even in masks, that would have been enough. But as it turned out, the only thing that didn’t go their way that weekend was the weather, with temperatures in the low 50s at showtime Saturday evening.
Part of what made booking the show viable, even before a dramatic loosening of restrictions to help curb the spread of the virus, was the MoonDance at Midnight Pass Amphitheater’s status as one of the only outdoor venues with full amenities in the Lexington area. And as arts groups and other entities began to emerge from more than a year off stage due to the pandemic, an amphitheater that combined open air with full technical abilities and facilities including restrooms was exactly what arts groups and other organizations needing to book large gatherings were looking for.
“It’s on everybody’s radar suddenly this year, because people were scrambling for outdoor venues,” said Celeste Lewis, programming director for MoonDance. “A lot of people who didn’t know it existed were like, ‘this is perfect.’
“So this year, it is being used fivefold of what it was in the past.”
Lewis and Lexington Parks & Recreation, which manages the facility, cut back on its own programming, such as the Summer Nights in Suburbia concert series, to allow room for more local groups such as the Kentucky Ballet Theatre and Lexington Children’s Theatre to perform there. MoonDance mainstays such as the Big Band & Jazz concert series and Southland Jamboree also are returning to the Beaumont Circle venue.
“We love seeing all the people — the dogs,” Georgetown-based musician Sonny Burnette said settled into his folding chair next to his wife Joyce for a Tuesday night performance by the DiMartino-Osland Little Big Band, as part of the jazz series. He recalled getting to know people who sat around them, even getting a dog hooked on ranch dressing, coming to concerts previous summers.
Last summer, the Burnettes missed the camaraderie of coming out to the amphitheater to hear music. “After a year or more, we’ve been looking forward to getting back out,” he said.
“We’re so glad,” said Diana Worthington of Winchester, who was at the concert with her family, including her grandson Macklin Van Meter, 4, doing jumps into the thick grass off the walls that separate the tiers of the amphitheater. “No masks. Don’t ask me to wear a mask. It’s a beautiful park, and it has the bathrooms. It’s perfect.”
There have been a number of temporary outdoor performance venues in Lexington over the decades such as the UK Arboretum and Woodland Park. But MoonDance, which was built by developers Tim and Andy Haymaker and opened in 2010, is the only permanent facility with sound and lighting and, of course, restrooms – no braving the porta-potties here. Parks & Rec took over programming the venue a few years later, and in 2018 the C.M. Gatton Trust and Haymaker Development Company gifted the venue to the city.
Jessica Piersol of Lexington Parks & Recreation notes MoonDance has been active in the past year, presenting performances such as the annual “Ballet Under the Stars” concert and Thriller presentation to limited audiences with restrictions such as masks, social distancing, and registration for contact tracing. But this summer seems to be promising a return to normal, which co-bandleader Miles Osland could feel as the show started.
“We’re trying to remember how to do this,” Osland joked between numbers to the crowd of several hundred people.
“It’s great to play again, man,” Osland said during a break. “This is like, literally, our first gig,” since the pandemic started. “The sound guys here are so good. They make this place sound great. It’s a great place to play.”
It looks like people will be playing MoonDance all summer, which will host a variety of arts events as well as some private gatherings that were looking for a sizeable space to safely assemble, though the safety concerns seem to be fading quickly.
“Everything is changing week to week, and moment to moment and people are starting to just really get back into the flow of life before the pandemic,” Piersol said. “And so we’re here to hopefully, entertain and gather people again.”
Rich Copley is a former arts writer and editor for the Herald-Leader who continues to enjoy Lexington’s arts and culture.
MoonDance at Midnight Pass Amphitheater
Where: 1152 Monarch St., Lexington
Online: lexingtonky.gov/moondance-at-midnight-pass-amphitheater
Call: (859) 425-2349
MoonDance event schedule
This is a list of upcoming public events, as of press time. Additional events are in the process of being booked.
June 4-6: Kentucky Ballet Theatre. Company show: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Student show: 5 p.m. Sunday
June 8: Big Band & Jazz – Marlin McKay Quintet. 7 p.m.
June 11-12: Traci Stone Dance - “Better When I’m Dancing.” 7 p.m. Saturday; 6 p.m. Sunday
June 15: Big Band & Jazz – Tim Lake and the Jazz Blues Persuaders. 7 p.m.
June 17: Southland Jamboree – Kenny and Amanda Smith
June 18-19: Bluegrass Youth Ballet - Festival of Nations and Arabella’s Journey. Festival: 7 p.m.; Show: 9 p.m.
June 22: Big Band & Jazz – Ross Whitaker Jazz Trio.
June 24: Southland Jamboree – Ida Clare
June 25: Summer Nights in Suburbia concert series – Second Hand News
June 29: Big Band & Jazz – Lexington Summer Concert Band
July 8: Southland Jamboree – Alan Bibey and Grasstowne
July 15: Southland Jamboree – Blind Ricky
July 16-18: Allegro Dance Project – “Renaissance.” 8 p.m. nightly
July 22: Southland Jamboree – Hammertowne
July 23: Summer Nights in Suburbia concert series – The Other Brothers
August 19: Southland Jamboree – Custom Made Bluegrass
August 26: Southland Jamboree – Blue Eagle Band
August 27: Summer Nights in Suburbia concert series – Honeychild
Sept 4-5: Kentucky Woke Productions – Resilient Soundfest. Noon-10 p.m.
Sept 16: Southland Jamboree – Fenced In
Sept 19: Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Festival
Sept 23: Southland Jamboree – Kentucky Wild Horse
Sept 24: Summer Nights in Suburbia concert series – C the Beat
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