It will be a painful journey, but the music, theater and visiting acts and events will return once the viral threat has passed

I call this period in the history of Montgomerys The Great Arts Pause of 2020.

Because that's what it is, a break. The river region will rebound from the threat of coronavirus which has events canceling and shutting down the sites, although it will be a very painful journey for the next two months at least.

For now, sites like Montgomery Performing Arts Center, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cloverdale Playhouse, Garrett Coliseum and many more are closed – at least for the rest of March – to help minimize the spread virus, and local sites that continue to fight are exercising extreme caution.

The changes caused by the virus happen daily and very quickly. Readers of the Go Play 334 section of previous Thursdays recounted a series of local events that were canceled a few hours later that day – from comedy shows at MPAC to a huge hip festival – free Christian shop in the city center.

Sunday afternoon was to present the latest performances to ASF with "Ruby" and "Alabama Story", but they were also canceled that morning.

There are many things that need to be rescheduled or rethought in the weeks and months to come – from the SLE Rodeo to WWE to a horde of MPAC concerts, local theater and local live music concerts.

Besides the general dismay of everyone who wanted to see these events, there is another major problem. The threat of the coronavirus shelters good talented people for the time being.

In this case, it's not like our Montgomery musicians can pack their bags and go to another city to play. Concerts are interrupted everywhere.

I thought Montgomery's native sax player Jason Mingledorff, formerly of St. Paul and The Broken Bones, summed up the situation of the musicians quite well in a recent Facebook post:

With public schools closed for the next month and all the musicians I know (including myself) losing a lot of their concerts, it seems like there is a huge opportunity for many of these musicians. get work as babysitters, wrote Jason. Is there a type of app or page where musicians interested in this type of thing could coordinate their services? They could even offer music lessons!

If my kids weren't nearly all adults, I would take you for Jason.

I have no doubt that artists and places in river regions will emerge stronger than ever from the other side of the coronavirus threat. It's just going to take patience, and lots and lots of hand sanitizer.

The elbow affects you all. Be smart and safe.

Help the local theater out

I understand how tempting it could be to want a refund for a canceled show, and the Alabama Shakespeare Festival has a lot of shows and events that they have been forced to close, some before they even get on stage.

I was really looking forward to "A Midsummer Night & # 39; s Dream" outside in the garden. After talking to some of the young actors in these roles, I know they were too.

The closure of these productions will hit ASF and other local theater companies very hard.

Instead of a refund, why not pay it in the long term? Turn your ticket into a donation to the theater or, at the very least, use it as credit for a future show. It would be of great help.

To lend a hand to ASF, contact the ticket office between noon and 5 p.m. Monday to Friday at 334-271-5353, or email them to BoxOffice@asf.net.

Don't go there in person. The advantage of closing production at ASF is to help prevent the spread of the virus.

Contact Montgomery Advertiser reporter Shannon Heupel at sheupel@gannett.com.

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