The Show Must Go On

BY LIZZIE WILCOX

After a nine-month intermission, Actors’ Playhouse at the Miracle Theatre has reopened for live shows. The first post-lockdown production opened in December, a children’s theatre presentation of “Madeline’s Christmas” – with safety measures in place. “We took a leap of faith and we didn’t know how it would work out and it was so successful,” says Barbara Stein, executive producing director of Actors’ Playhouse.

Now the children’s theatre, directed by Earl Maulding, is putting on “The Wizard of Oz,” which premiered on Feb. 20. Their shows, which are normally in the smaller upstairs theater, have been moved to the larger mainstage theater. “[Earl] has to really redirect the show for social distancing,” Stein says. If someone in the cast is exposed to coronavirus, Maulding has to either rework the show for a day or two, or bring in the understudy.

The Miracle Theatre has not only implemented Covid-19 precautions for its cast, but also for the audience. Temperatures are taken before entering and everyone must wear a mask once inside. The bathrooms have been updated with automatic faucets and there are specific entrances and exits so that people don’t bump into each other. They are