Weekend - August 20, 2020

For the most up-to-date listing of events, go online to masslive.com/entertainment

Weekend

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LIVEWIRE: Indigo Girls set new dates for postponed tour, E3 MOVIE REVIEW: ‘I Used to Go Here’ now streaming, E6 BEER NUT: Columnist George Lenker mourns the passing of his dog, E8

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Spring Museum field st virtual e o host vent

Play to be staged free of charge on the grounds of Fountain Park in Wilbraham Page E2

‘Steel Magnolias’

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WEEKEND

THE REPUBLICAN | MASSLIVE.COM

‘Steel Magnolias’ Play to be staged outside at Fountain Park in Wilbraham

T

By Cori Urban

Special to The Republican

he Theatre Guild of Hampden will stage an outdoor production of “Steel Magnolias” this weekend with blocking and location mindful of social distancing guidelines set forth by the state during the ongoing pandemic.

“I didn’t want to cancel because the cast is brilliant,” said director Mark H. Giza.

Giza said the show — which began rehearsals outside in June — is coming together “quite nicely.”

It will take place outdoors Friday through Sunday, on the grounds of Fountain Park, located at 883 Tinkham Road, at 6 p.m.

Admission is free, though donations are accepted.

The title, “Steel Magnolias,” suggests the female characters in the production — set in a small town in the South — can be as delicate as a magnolia and as tough as steel.

Diane Flynn, an esthetician from Hampden, plays Truvy, a salon owner she describes as “bubbly, looks for the good in everybody, is a really big gossip” and “loves her town, loves her family and loves her friends and tries to keep the peace.” She is “flashy and loves baubles and make-up and big hair.”

Flynn, a veteran actor with The Theatre Guild of Hampden who began as Annie, “a cellblock Tango girl” in Chicago, has done outdoor theater before. “It was really fun,” she said. “The challenge here is not being

outside; it’s not being close with my cast-mates.”

But the way Giza deals with the social-distancing requirements is “brilliant,” she said. “You have to see it for yourself.”

The challenge for Giza was to re-block the show so actors would not be within 6 feet of one another on the stage.

The performers will be under a 10-foot-by-30-foot tent. “God forbid it rains and we have to cancel,” Giza said.

“It’s really a show about how ‘when the going gets tough the tough get going,’” said Giza, an award-winning theater director. “It’s about friendship and connection.”

There is no charge for the performances, though donations will be accepted.

“This is our gift to the community during a time when people need to get out. So much theater has been canceled,” Giza said.

“Everybody is so down now (because of the pandemic).

Hopefully this will be a gift that will give everybody a little lift.”

Attendees are invited to bring their own chairs or

SEE ‘MAGNOLIAS’, PAGE E3

IF YOU GO

The cast of the Theatre Guild of Hampden presents “Steel Magnolias.”

(THOMAS HENTRY PHOTO)

Event: Steel Magnolias • When: Friday through Sunday, 6 p.m. • Where: Fountain Park, 883 Tinkham Road, Wilbraham • Cost: Free, donations accepted For more info: Online, theatreguildofhampden.org

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WEEKEND

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MUSIC

“Everybody is so down now (because of the pandemic). Hopefully this will be a gift that will give everybody a little lift.”

Indigo Girls set new tour dates

I

ndigo Girls have announced new dates for their area shows that were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.

MARK H. GIZA, DIRECTOR

‘Magnolias’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE E2

blankets. Refreshments will be available for purchase, but audience members may bring a picnic.

Social distancing requirements will be observed: maximum of 100 patrons per show, groups limited to six people, 6-foot spacing between groups, no children under the age of 12 and masks must be worn when buying refreshments.

For more information go online to theatreguild ofhampden.org.

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The group will return in 2021 with shows at the Chevalier Theatre in Medford on April 23, Foxwoods Resort Casino on April 24, and the Pines Theater at Look Park in Northampton on June 25.

Tickets purchased for the original dates will be honored and ticket information is available through the artist’s website at indigogirls.com.

Indigo Girls feature the writing/performing duo of Amy Ray and Emily Saliers.

The pair won a Grammy in 1990 for “Best Contemporary Folk Album.”

They were nominated for Best New Artist — but lost out to Milli Vanilli. The latter group eventually had the award revoked.

The Indigo Girls have announced new dates next year for their postponed tour. The group will play the Chevalier Theatre in Medford on April 23, Foxwoods Resort Casino on April 24, and the Pines Theater at Look Park in Northampton on June 25. (DENNIS PILLION PHOTO)

3 p.m.

Tickets for the original date will be honored and ticket information, including refund information is available through Live Nation at livenation.com.

The Beach Boys have sold over 100 million records worldwide and have received more than 33 RIAA Platinum and Gold record awards.

The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers were also honored at the 2001 Grammy Awards with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

on Oct. 16, 2021, at 7 p.m.

Tickets for the previous dates will be honored and all ticket-related information is available through iheg.com.

Edwards is best known for his 1971 hit single “Sunshine.”

• Jonathan Edwards has rescheduled (again) a Northampton concert, pushing his local appearance off to 2021.

The songwriter will appear at the Iron Horse Music Hall

• Pearl Jam is getting into the remote-concert business with a pay-per-view event coming in September.

The band will release an archival concert from the

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• The Weight Band has canceled its upcoming Holyoke show.

Liner notes The group was scheduled to • The Beach Boys Septem- perform at Gateway City Arts ber show, the last remaining on Sept. 11.

New England date on the legTicket refund information endary group’s summer tour is available through the promoter’s website at dspshows. itinerary, has been moved.

The show, originally com. scheduled for March 29 at The Weight Band originated in 2013 at the Woodstock, the Toyota Oakdale Theater New York, barn of Levon in Wallingford, and then optimistically (reasonably at Helm when Jim Weider and the time) shifted to Sept. 18, is Randy Ciarlante — both former members of The Band now slated for next spring.

The Beach Boys will play — performed “Songs of The the venue on April 17, 2021 at Band” with Band founder,

Garth Hudson, alongside Jimmy Vivino and Byron Isaacs.

The group has toured performing select favorites of The Band and in 2018 released the original work “World Gone Mad.”

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BROADWAY

Bacharach. The LP took home a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album.

Costello was part of London’s pub-rock scene in the early ’70s and helped usher in New Wave with his band The Attractions.

‘Diana’ musical to play on Netflix ment that Netflix provides its subscribers worldwide.”

The statement said the musical still planned to open on Broadway, now on May 25, 2021.

By Nicole Sperling And in a separate statement, New York Times Actors’ Equity Association, With Broadway still shutthe national labor union, said tered, Netflix is doing for the it had approved a safety plan theater community what it and that would allow for the actors other streaming services have in “Diana” to rehearse, record done for the movie business: a cast album and mount a performance for recording. With airing content that can’t be very few exceptions, the union seen where it was initially has barred its members from intended. Last week, the performing live onstage during company announced that it would stream a specially filmed the pandemic, arguing that it version of “Diana: A Musical,” risks their safety. a new show about the ill-fated British princess, ahead of its debut on Broadway.

“Diana” began previews March 2, with its opening scheduled for March 31 at the Longacre Theater, only to be shut down because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will be recorded without an audience at the Longacre next month and will feature the original Broadway cast, including Jeanna de Waal as Diana, Roe Hartrampf as Prince Charles, Erin Davie as Camilla Parker Bowles and Judy Kaye as Queen Elizabeth.

A promotional message added to the musical’s website said it would be “Coming to Netflix in Early 2021.”

Christopher Ashley, the artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse, where the show FRANK MARSHALL AND THE originated, is the director of the ARACA GROUP musical, for which Joe DiPietro and David Bryan, 2010 Tony The provisions of the plan Award winners for “Memphis,” include initial and recurring wrote the script, music and testing, an isolation protocol for lyrics. the actors and stage managers, “We speak for the entire and changes to the theater’s company when we say that air-conditioning system to ensure ventilation to the backstage we couldn’t be more excited areas of the building. to finally be able to share our Netflix has showcased theatshow with theater lovers everywhere,” the lead producers, rical works before, streaming Beth Williams, Frank Marshall “American Son,” starring Kerry and the Araca Group, said in Washington, in 2019. Ryan a joint statement. “Though Murphy is trying to finish his there is no substitute for the live film adaptation of the Broadway theater, we are honored to be musical “The Prom,” which was a part of the quality entertainscheduled for release in 2020.

COVID-19 won’t stop theater production, producers say

“We speak for the entire company when we say that we couldn’t be more excited to finally be able to share our show with theater lovers everywhere.”

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• A portion of the final concert Duane Allman performed with his band, The Allman Brothers, has been readied for release.

“The Final Note” archives seven songs from the Oct. 17, 1971, concert that occurred just 12 days before the guitarist’s untimely passing.

The concert was held at the Painters Mill Music Fair in Owings Mills, Maryland and was the last show Allman performed before a motorcycle accident took his life at age 24.

The recording, done with a handheld cassette player (the recording has been enhanced through technology) includes The Beach Boys are scheduled to play the Toyota Oakdale versions of “Whipping Post,” Theater in Wallingford on April 17, 2021, at 3 p.m. (MICHAEL BES“Statesboro Blues,” “One Way WICK / THE REPUBLICAN FILE PHOTO) Out” and “Hot ‘Lanta.”

Allman founded the band in 18) and Lil’ Kim (Sept. 19) have 1969 in Jacksonville, FL with been moved off the calendar.

Gregg Allman, Dickey Betts While new dates have yet (lead guitar), Berry Oakley CONTINUED FROM PAGE E3 to be a determined, tickets (bass guitar), Butch Trucks 2018 tour. purchased for the original (drums), and “Jaimoe” JohanThe performance, a 33dates will be honored. Ticket son (drums).

The band was at the foresong set from Safeco Field in information is available front of the Southern rock Seattle, will air on nugs.net, through the Foxwoods Box movement and was inducted on Sept. 4 as a pay-per-view. Office at foxwoods.com.

Tickets for the show (airing The next live music of note into the Rock Hall of Fame in 1995. at 8 p.m.) are $14.99. scheduled for either the The set list for the perforGrand Theater at Foxwoods mance included covers of • With a summer tour put or the Fox Theater is the Voices of R&B tour with Stepha- on hold due to COVID-19 reNeil Young’s “Throw Your nie Mills and the Whispers strictions, Daughtry is making Hatred Down” and “Rockin’ in the Free World,” Pink on Oct. 9 (originally scheduled some hay in the livestream Floyd’s “Comfortably Numb” for May 1 at the Grand Theuniverse. ater) and the Survivor concert and Little Steven’s “I Am a The rock band is set to play at the Fox Theater on Oct. 16 Patriot.” as part of Live Nations’ “Live From Home” series on Sunday (originally a March 19 show).

There is also a guest spot at 7 p.m. from Brandi Carlile on her Access to the livestream is • “Hey Clockface,” a new song “Again Today.” recording from Elvis Costel- available through livenation.

Pearl Jam released its 11th lo, is due out in October. com with streaming and virstudio album, “Gigaton” in tual meet and greet packages The 14-song release was March but was was forced available. recorded in Paris, New York, to cancel the corresponding Daughtry was originally set and Helsinki. tour due to the pandemic. to kick off its 2020 tour with Costello recently delivered • Foxwoods Resort Casino a single, “We Are All Cowards a show at the Cabot Theater in Beverly on March 28. The Now,” from the record, the has cleaned the slate for band also had a Mohegan Sun September concerts with two third single to be released stop scheduled for September. from the project. more postponements.

It is the rocker’s first record- Both of those appearances The Mashantucket, Connecticut, casino has aning since 2018’s “Look Now,” were scrapped and the Monounced that performances by which included collaborations hegan Sun Arena show was the Little River Band (Sept. moved to April 9, 2021. with Carole King and Burt

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SPRINGFIELD

Museums host virtual ‘Hooray for Heroes’

By Pam Mastriano

that featured virtual Museums experiences. “Even now The Springfield Museums that the Museums are open, presents “Hooray for Heroes,� we continue to offer digital a virtual family engagement resources, programming, and events to keep in touch with event that launched on Aug. all of our visitors, including 15. “The Museums are open, those not quite ready to venture out,� Murray said. but we know not everyone Hooray for Heroes is a is able (or ready) to visit in virtual event for the whole person,� said Larissa Murray, Director of Education family. It is inspired by the at the Springfield Museums. exhibit “Hall of Heroes,� “That’s OK! We still have lots currently on display at the of fun available!�

Wood Museum of Springfield When the Museums History, along with a complementary exhibit “Heroes in closed in support of the Healthcare: A Celebration of public health effort to stem Springfield’s Medical Comthe spread of COVID-19, munity.â€? the staff pivoted quickly to Activities include but are offer resources online. The not limited to: Museums created an “Engage Pageâ€? for the public as • Downloadable activity well as a members-only page sheets that explore art, sci-

The Republican

A “Gotham City� gargoyle looks out over the Hall of Heroes exhibit, now open at the Wood Museum of Springfield History, featuring interactive dioramas that explore the history of superheroes in popular culture. (DON TREEGER / THE REPUBLICAN)

ence, and culture, using materials easily found at home. • Videos, including one that features David White, illustrator of children’s books for Scholastic and comics for LEGO Magazine. • An opportunity to ask questions via the Super Hero hotline. • Chances to win prizes by posting your artwork using #AtTheMuseums and #HoorayForHeroes.

Hooray for Heroes launched Aug. 15 with video and activities available through the Springfield Museums website at spring fieldmuseums.org/ engage/heroes/, and this family fun program will continue to be available going forward.

VIDEO GAME REVIEW

‘Fall Guys’ is delightful, creative take on battle royale

By Elise Favis

Washington Post

I don’t normally laugh when I die in a video game. Usually, my untimely demise is met with frustration. But in “Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout,� I’m left in stitches whenever my poor jelly bean-shaped character is bonked by an aggressively circling hammer, or trampled by a stampede of players.

With each failure, I can’t help but appreciate the ridiculous situation and the wholesome experience. I quickly queue Minigames in “Fall Guysâ€? come in the form of ludicrous obstaup another match to join the cle courses, similar to what you’d see in the television show turbulent fun once more. “Wipeout.â€? (DEVOLVER DIGITAL) Released on Aug. 4 for PlayStation 4 and PC, “Fall Guysâ€? is a battle royale game unlike any I’ve ever played (and that’s great, considering the WEDNESDAY – SATURDAY genre rarely strays from the PUB 4 –10pm / KITCHEN 5 – 9pm norm). Yes, you’re still facing EXPANDED MENU off against others in hopes of and FREE ICE CREAM being the last one standing, with meal purchase! but “Fall Guysâ€? swaps guns for at the IrishCenterwne.org silly minigames akin to “Mario Party.â€? Pitting you against 59 Irish Cultural Center 429 Morgan Road, W. SpringďŹ eld others, you complete frenzied challenges, some competitive, RESERVATIONS / TAKEOUT: 413-342-4358

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others cooperative. With every passing round, minigames are randomized and a slew of players are eliminated, narrowing the batch until a final trial. If you’re disqualified, you can continue spectating, which is often just as amusing as playing. “Fall Guys� doesn’t take itself seriously, and that’s one

of the best things about it. You waddle, trip and tumble your way to victory in a vibrant world of obstacle courses and arenas, primed with brightly colored gym mats, pools of pink slime, and teetering seesaws.

Each minigame has a different and wildly entertaining

SEE ‘FALL’, PAGE E7

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MOVIES FILM REVIEW

‘I Used to Go Here’: A comedy pregnant with possibilities

By Ann Hornaday

Washington Post

There must be a German word for it: That feeling of instant familiarity and creeping displacement that sets upon the young-middle-aged when they revisit a place of their not-so-distant youth.

It could be their childhood bedroom. Or a once-favorite bar. Or the town where they went to college - like Carbondale, Ill., the setting for writer-director Kris Rey’s “I Used to Go Here,” an observantly funny comedy that exquisitely captures the emotional weather of simultaneously belonging and unbelonging.

Gillian Jacobs plays Kate, a 35-year-old author whose first novel has just been published. She should be over the moon, but her world is crashing around her ears: Her book tour has just been canceled, all her friends are pregnant and she can’t stop checking her ex’s Instagram.

Perfect timing, then, for Kate to be invited back to campus (presumably Southern Illinois University, although it’s never named out loud), where she is greeted like a celebrity and asked to give a triumphant reading in class taught by her onetime mentor, a charismatic professor played with flawless self-regard by Jemaine Clement. Terrorized by the martinet who runs the bedand-breakfast where she’s staying, Kate finds fellowship across the street, in a house where she lived 15 years ago, when the future held promise instead of shame, confusion and disappointment.

To a 35-year-old, 15 years is almost nothing: Kate feels like she fits right in with the guys now living in her former abode, and she pounds beers and smokes with practiced nonchalance. To them, of course, she’s much older, but they gamely allow her into

‘I USED TO GO HERE’ rrrs

Rating: Unrated Running time: 80 minutes Playing at: Available on various streaming platforms.

their circle. Rey conveys that psychic divide with fluency and forgiving humor in “I Used to Go Here,” as well as the double-consciousness of being treated like a hero in your old hometown while secretly nursing the knowledge that you’re an abject failure in everything other than faking success.

Bolstered by an ensemble of game young actors including Josh Wiggins, Forrest Goodluck, Brandon Daley and Rammel Chan, Jacobs delivers a winning portrait of a young woman trapped between two worlds, both inside and out; there’s a wonderful shot of her posing with

In “I Used to Go Here,” Gillian Jacobs, left, plays a 35-year-old whose first novel has just been published. But her travels to her old stomping grounds come amid a canceled book tour, a gaggle of pregnant friends and she can’t stop checking her ex’s Instagram. (GRAVITAS VENTURES PHOTO)

her friends at a baby shower, holding her new book in front of her like her own baby bump. Thankfully, Rey avoids saddling Kate with the biological-clock trope, giving the character her own specific set of doubts and ambivalences.

Partway through “I Used to Go Here,” a subplot involving a thoroughly unconvincing caper threatens to derail the film into an awkward screwball comedy. But, for the most part, Rey keeps a

steady hand on the film’s core competencies. Like “Wonder Boys,” which it wistfully evokes, Rey’s film works best as a study in the kaleidoscopic vagaries of time, which somehow forces us to age even while we stay the same.

With modesty, precision and wry compassion, “I Used to Go Here” limns human nature at its most contradictory and indefinable, offering a textbook example - at least until the right German word comes along.

STREAMING ONLINE

‘Represent,’ ‘Stars and Strife’ among new releases

Julie Cho appears in “Represent.” (MUSIC BOX FILMS)

By Michael O’Sullivan and delegate in a heavily DemoAnn Hornaday cratic Chicago suburb; and Washington Post Democrat Bryn Bird, who A documentary cousin to runs for township trustee “Knock Down the House” in a small Ohio farming — which looked at the 2018 community that has never campaigns of four progreshad a progressive trustee sive Democrats (all women), before — and only one previous woman in the job. The including that of a then-unknown Alexandria Ocaoutcomes of the elections sio-Cortez — “Represent” aren’t the point (and, unlike also follows three long-shot Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign, female candidates hoping probably won’t surprise you). to break into politics: DemRather, the film is meant to ocrat Myya Jones, who at 22 inspire more women to run decides to run for mayor of for something — anything — Detroit (before switching to in a country where that is still state representative); Julie a relative rarity, and sexism Cho, a 48-year-old Republiis widespread. “Represent” is can running for Illinois state a political documentary, but

it’s also personal, using the intimate stories of its subjects and their challenges — youth and inexperience; a family member with cancer; the struggle to balance parenting with work; and a history of sexual abuse — to connect with viewers who see themselves in this trio of diverse role models, one Black, one Korean American and one White. Unrated. Available online at jxjdc.org and afi silver.afi.com. Contains brief strong language. In English and some Korean with subtitles. 93 minutes.

— Michael O’Sullivan SEE STREAM, PAGE E7

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Stream

‘Fall’

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David Smick is a global macroeconomics expert, author, occasional political adviser and, now, cinematic pamphleteer: In another age, “Stars and Strife” might have been an essay that Smick handed out on street corners or from atop his own soapbox. Instead, it’s a documentary in the illustrated-argument form perfected by essayists as wide-ranging as Michael Moore, Stephen Bannon and Thomas Piketty. In this earnest appeal to civics, civility and American exceptionalism, Smick appears on screen along with statesmen, scholars and journalists including The Washington Post’s David Ignatius - to diagnose the country’s current state of paralysis and polarization, and suggest the antidote. Like Piketty’s “Capital in the Twenty-First Century,” Smick’s film bemoans the rapacious form of capitalism that has resulted in crippling wealth inequality, but “Stars and Strife” makes little mention of the destruction of unions or the communications legislation that ushered in food-fight media culture; more than one eyebrow will be raised at the presentation of Newt Gingrich as a hero of bipartisan comity, given the scorched-earth rhetorical style he’s credited with (or blamed for) perfecting. Still, it’s impossible to argue with “Stars and Strife’s” plea for a return to “Main Street” capitalism, or common-sense electoral reform. We need all the help we can get. Unrated.

Available on various streaming platforms, including Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Vudu and Vimeo on Demand. Contains nothing objectionable.

98 minutes.

— Ann Hornaday

premise, revolving around platforming, luck or teamwork. You navigate through different trials, attempting to reach a finish line or meet an objective. For example, in Gate Crash, you bash into a series of real and fake doors alongside a swarm of players, all hoping to find the correct path to the finish line. Other times you’re joining efforts to push a gigantic ball down an incline as an opposing team attempts the same, or picking tails off opponents’ backsides (or protecting your own) in a clever twist of the classic game of tag.

Some minigames are in the form of ludicrous obstacle courses, similar to what you’d see in the television show “Wipeout.” You avoid hindrances like closing gates, moving structures, or even oversized fruit that tumbles down a mountain toward you.

The gameplay is complemented by wacky rag doll physics; your character goes flying after being hit by a spinning propeller, for example.

With 25 minigames, there’s a good starting variety at launch, but Mediatonic, the game’s developer, will have to continuously support the game to keep things fresh for longtime players. Thankfully, this is something they’re vowing to do with upcoming seasons.

Another area they’ll need to monitor is server performance. The game ran without issues during two open beta

Also streaming Amateur climber Jim Geiger’s attempt, at 68, to summit Mount Everest is the subject of “Accidental Climber,” a “succinct but affecting” documentary that Film Threat says “serves as

Stephen Moyer appears in “G-LOC.” (ROSS DAY / LIONSGATE HOME ENTERTAINMENT)

a gentle reminder that age really is just a number, and sometimes it’s not about achieving your dreams, it’s about the pursuit of them.”

Unrated. Available on various streaming platforms, including iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, Vudu, Vimeo, FandangoNOW, YouTube and Microsoft/Xbox. 66 minutes.

In the French comingof-age tale “An Easy Girl,” a 16-year-old girl (Mina Farid) looks up to her older sexually adventurous cousin during a summer together in Cannes. (The older cousin is played by tabloid sensation Zahia Dehar, best known from a 2009 sex scandal involving the French national soccer team.) Beneath its breeziness, the Hollywood Reporter says, the film has a lot on its mind, including “materialism, misogyny, the acquisition of self-knowledge and what it means to really accept another person.” TV-MA. Available on Netflix. In French with subtitles. 92 minutes.

Two love-struck high school graduates (Alexandra Shipp and Nicholas Hamilton) are separated by a tragic car accident in “Endless,” a supernatural romance that IndieWire call a “soulless and vapid ‘Ghost’ rip-off for teens.” Unrated. Available on various streaming platforms.

95 minutes.

Stephen Moyer, Casper Van Dien and John Rhys-Davies star in “G-LOC” a sci-fi adventure about a man

(Moyer) who flees Earth for a planet that is hostile to humans. R. Available on various streaming platforms.

Contains strong language and some sexuality. 105 minutes.

“Gripped: Climbing the Killer Pillar” is a survival epic set in the Sierra Nevada of California. Unrated.

Available on various streaming platforms. 89 minutes.

The documentary “Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story” takes a behind-the-scenes look at the cult animated TV show “Ren & Stimpy” and its visionary yet difficult creator John Kricfalusi.

Variety calls it “predominantly fast-paced fun that will be catnip for animation fans, despite the admittedly gruesome (yet engrossing) dark side to this tale.” Unrated. Available on various streaming platforms. 104 minutes.

“Martin Margiela: In His Own Words” is a documentary portrait of an influential yet pub-licity-shy Belgian fashion designer, who rose from Jean Paul Gaultier’s assistant to become creative director at Hermès, and ultimately start his own label. The film, which does not show its subject’s face, “makes the case for Margiela’s revolutionary ethos to be understood as akin to Andy Warhol’s,” according to Slant magazine. Unrated.

Available at afisilver.afi. com. In English and French with subtitles. 90 minutes.

sessions, but “Fall Guys” had a particularly rough launch day resulting in constant server disconnections, matchmaking interruptions and other errors.

Mediatonic was overwhelmed by the popularity of the game, which skyrocketed to the top of Steam and Twitch charts immediately upon release. As a small team, Mediatonic is facing its share of challenges to accommodate the large player base. Hopefully server stability is addressed promptly enough, because when this game works smoothly, there’s a lot to enjoy.

“Fall Guys” has a steady progression system, where you can earn two forms of currency: crowns (from winning a match) and kudos (from playing in general, or bought via microtransactions). These are used to buy cosmetics, like a pack of fast-food costumes, to swap your character into a french fries get-up. You can also unlock skins simply by playing the game, and the designs - like pirate attire or a rainbow tutu - are all delightfully whimsical.

The entertainment in “Fall Guys” doesn’t just come from winning. It’s about laughing at your clumsiness as you trip over your own feet and as you learn from each defeat about how to best survive the next match. For a game that doesn’t take itself seriously, it’s hard to rage or let “Fall Guys” get the better of me. Seeing my character or my friends collapse, spin out of control and get launched into the air is just too much fun to pass up.

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DINE & WINE

Toast to the best of friends

M

Y DOG, TJ, AMbled over the Rainbow Bridge on Aug. 11.

I know some readers might be thinking: “Wait, isn’t this a beer column?”

It is. Please bear with me and read on.

I’m certainly not famous, but this column has provided me with a smidgen of local celebrity in the craft beer world. It’s not something I sought, but it is nice to have my work recognized, just like it would be for anyone.

While sometimes these scenarios involve lengthier conversations at pubs when a reader recognizes me and wants to talk beer, more often that not, it’s usually a quick compliment of this weekly column that often starts with a friendly, “You’re the beer guy, right?” or some similar iteration.

But more (maybe much more) than being a “beer guy” (or Beer Nut), I am actually a “dog guy” or “dog nut.”

And in the interest of full disclosure, for the past nine years, I have mainly been a “TJ nut.” Every dog person thinks they have the greatest dog ever, and I’m no exception. (Except I actually did.)

When one has several passions, it’s natural to sometimes compare them. If, say, someone enjoys both cooking and the symphony, one might notice how a musical composition is like a recipe for a fine meal, and a concert is like the meal that is served at a restaurant. And so on.

So, for me: beer and dogs.

I’m sure reading that phrase automatically makes a lot of people nod knowingly, because a lot of people enjoy both. And both beer and dogs share a down-to-earth quality for the most part. Sure, there are exotic beers and really fancy dogs, but for the most part, beer is the drink of everyday Joes and Josephines and dogs are lovable unassuming mutts. (I also wrote about the similarities

California’s EnRoute Pinot Noirs capture sense of place

O Beer Nut columnist George Lenker mourns the passing of his beloved dog, TJ.

say I loved him more than I have loved any entity on the planet, human or otherwise.

I will miss his scruffy, often stolid physical presence, but he has already made his spiritual presence known since he passed.

Of course, as regular readers may know, I come George Lenker from Irish heritage, and we Beer Nut toast our beloved dead, and two of my best Irish-Ameribetween dogs and beer three can friends, Q and F-sharp, years ago.) took me out for an Irish Your favorite wake for TJ He taught me so of sorts. We beer is one you much: to be less toasted him can rely on — at the end of a arduselfish, to not be with whiskey ous day or when and great afraid, to be less craft beer at you just want lazy. But another the recently something familiar and solid. The reopened thing I learned term “go-to beer” Northampton from him was is one you hear or Brewery and read often in craft you only have so Joe’s Cafe. beer parlance. much time with I originally Many if not most didn’t feel those you love, like going out beer aficionados have a go-to beer, and you should at all, but anor at least a go-to grab as much of other friend, Shannon, style. And those it as you can. He (who a day go-to beers are later came like dogs. certainly did. over and TJ trotted into toasted TJ at the site where my life at a very low period for me. He was on death row he passed with whiskey and beer) urged me to go out of sorts at a kill shelter, and with my buddies. so people would say that I And frankly, it’s what TJ saved his life. But he saved would have wanted me to mine just as much. I’m not going to engage in a long pae- do. Like most dogs, he could an here (if you want that, see certainly lie around with the my Facebook page) except to SEE BEER, PAGE E9

NE OF THE GREAT things about great wines is how perfectly they capture a unique sense of place.

You can taste the climate, the soil and other distinct characteristics from specific vineyards in specific places.

The salty, green grass flavors and aromas of New Zealand Sauvignon Blancs from the Marlborough region.

The earthy, robust taste of many red wines from France’s Rhone region.

The meaty, mouthwatering complexity of many Malbecs from Mendoza near the Andes Mountains of Argentina.

That’s why these wines from California’s EnRoute winery are such a treat.

These four, distinct Pinot Noirs made with grapes from four, different areas in Sonoma County’s Russian River Valley truly illustrate the versatility of this world-renowned wine growing region.

“It’s such a unique and amazing area,” Michael Accurso, head winemaker at EnRoute, said during a recent online wine tasting.

Andrew Delos, director of winemaking at EnRoute, agreed, explaining that’s why EnRoute Winery is located in the Russian River Valley. “When we decided we wanted to have a winery dedicated to Pinot Noir, we tasted wines from Anderson Valley, Carneros. We tasted from Europe, Oregon, Santa Barbara and we just kept coming back to the Russian River and the wines we loved and appreciate,” Delos said.

All of this may came as no surprise to many people who already appreciate the complex Pinot Noirs produced in Sonoma County and the Russian River Valley in particular.

But it was especially enjoy-

Ken Ross Wine Press

able to see the similarities and differences between wines produced by one winery from different vineyards located so close together in California. In most cases, EnRoute produces Pinot Noir wines made with grapes made from one specific vineyard.

“We had the ability to purchase a couple of vineyards over the years that now form the foundation of what EnRoute does,” Delos said.

“Unique parcels, hillside vineyards, really difficult growing conditions.”

Tasting these wines reminded me of some of my favorite wines from France’s Burgundy region, where Pinot Noirs made with grapes from one, specific vineyard taste dramatically different compared to another wine made with grapes grown in a different vineyard located just a few feet away.

“We have vineyards that are literally across the street from each other and I can try my hardest and they would not taste the same way after fermentation and aging,” Accurso said.

However, many of EnRoute’s vineyards do have one thing in common — the coastal influence. “Pretty much any vineyard we have ... is within 10 to 15 miles from the ocean,” Accurso said. “So you’re going to get coastal influence, you’re goSEE WINE, PAGE E9

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Wine CONTINUED FROM PAGE E8

ing to get that maritime layer that comes in every night like clockwork. The sun starts going down, the fog starts rolling in and it pushes out around 10:30 every morning.

All four EnRoute Pinot Noirs reviewed and recommended this week can be ordered online directly from the winery on its website. So don’t worry about whether or not you can find these wines at your favorite, local wine store. Hope you enjoy.

Wines recommended this week • 2018 EnRoute Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, “Les Pommiers” ($60 Suggested Retail Price) • 2018 EnRoute Amber Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley ($85 SRP) • 2018 EnRoute Marty’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley ($85 SRP) • 2018 EnRoute Northern Spy Vineyard, Russian River Valley ($85 SRP)

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head winemaker for Goldeneye Winery in California’s Anderson Valley among other winemaking positions in California and Argentina.

Wine tasting notes (The following wines were tasted during a recent online tasting hosted by Delos and Accurso. Their comments, along with my wine tasting notes, are listed below.)

2018 EnRoute Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley, “Les Pommiers” Delos: “EnRoute was built around the Les Pommiers wine. This wine is a blended Pinot. That’s not always a normal thing. But we really believe in the uniqueness of the Russian River and that we can create a wine of personality and depth that represents the best of the Russian River.”

Writer’s tasting notes: Beautiful, subtle, luxurious wine with earthy, round flavors.

2018 EnRoute Amber Ridge Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley Delos: “This vineyard (Amber Ridge) is the backAbout EnWroute Winery bone of the Les Pommiers Established in 2007 by the blend.” partners of Napa Valley’s Accurso: “This is a really Far Niente winery, EnRoute fun and unique site for Pinot Winery got its name from Noir. It’s on the northern the journey taken by the edge of the Russian River... winemakers to produce the It’s a such a beautiful expression of Pinot and I’m glad best possible Pinot Noir we have it... It’s definitely Wines. Delos, the former assistant winemaker at Nick- a full-throttled Pinot, big el & Nickel in Napa Valley, shoulders, opulent, a lot of was EnRoute’s original bing cherry and strawberry winemaker. He now serves flavors... beautiful, luscious... fruit forward, fleshy.” as EnRoute’s Director of Writer’s tasting notes: Winemaking. Since 2018, Delightfully over-the-top, the head winemaker at EnRoute has been Accurso, earthy, robust wine with ripe who previously served as the fruit flavors which should

Beer

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He taught me so much: to be less selfish, to not be afraid, to be less lazy. But another thing I CONTINUED FROM PAGE E8 learned from him was you only best of them, but when it have so much time with those was time to do something, you love, and you should grab he was all business. And he as much of it as you can. He had a lot of ideas about what certainly did. He’d wake me at his particular jobs were. One 5 a.m. every day, basically saywas clearly teaching me to be a ing “Let’s go!” And so our days always began. So my advice is better person.

The four EnRoute Pinot Noir wines reviewed this week.

(KEN ROSS PHOTO)

develop beautifully over the next five to seven years — ­ if you can resist not having this stunning wine now.

2018 EnRoute Marty’s Vineyard Pinot Noir, Russian River Valley Delos: “We’ve now moved south into the more cool climate. It (Marty’s Vineyard) is around the city of Sebastopol. Marty’s Vineyard is also a severe hillside... This wine always has a flinty minerality and I love that.”

Accurso: “This is a really fun site... I’ve never had a wine jump out of the glass as Marty’s does. It just blew me away... leaner wine in terms of structure and depth, but the aromatic profile is just leaps and bounds above any other wines I’ve seen coming out of this area... The 2018 just jumps out of the glass.”

Writer’s tasting notes: Flinty yet aromatic wine with light berry flavors and a subtle hint of dark chocolate.

Outstanding now and over the next five to seven years as well.

to spend as much time sharing love (and maybe a few beers) with those you love best.

So here’s a toast to the greatest friend I’ll ever have (with apologies to my many wonderful human friends).

Sláinte, TJ. I love you, so keep a seat for me in the Great Barroom Above and I will see you again.

All four EnRoute Pinot Noirs reviewed and recommended this week can be ordered online directly from the winery on its website.

2018 EnRoute Northern Spy Vineyard, Russian River Valley Delos: “From Marty’s (Vineyard) to Norther Spy (Vineyard), we’re talking less than a quarter of a mile...

Northern Spy was our second purchase in the Russian River... It was more or less an unplanted dirt farm that had a big hole in it that the owner

was selling sand out of it...

The reason they bought it is the vineyard next door had quite a bit of fame. It’s the Widow’s Vineyard. It’s being made by Dumol and a handful of other really nice Pinot producers... It’s a beautiful vineyard... It’s the coldest site in all of the Russian River...

Pinot Noir thrived in this field... I love drinking this wine away from the dinner table and enjoying it and really savoring it. I just really enjoy watching it evolve quietly.”

Accurso: “Site trumps all...

It’s the coldest vineyard in the Russian River. It’s the last vineyard we harvest...

You get this amazing depth and layers and structure to this wine which is very, very unique... With the aromatics, you get those dry rose petals, cranberry cocktail and then it goes right into a very smooth entry that’s fruit forward... It’s everything you’d want a Pinot Noir to be and I’m so happy we have this site... It’s my favorite and it’s just absolutely an amazing wine.”

Writer’s tasting notes: Luscious, floral, fragrant wine with a deep, captivating finish that lingers long after each taste. Truly outstanding now.

Flavors will likely deepen and develop wonderfully over the next five to 10 years or perhaps even longer.

Cheers!

Wine Press by Ken Ross appears on Masslive.com every Monday and in The Republican’s weekend section every Thursday.

Follow Ken Ross on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

WESTFIELD Open for Lunch & Dinner

OPEN ‘TIL MIDNIGHT 7 DAYS A WEEK Indoor and Outdoor Dining Curbside Take Out Service Available 2 Broad Street, Westfield • 562-0335

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E10 | THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020

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Outdoor dining may be only a seasonal solution

O

FFERING OUTdoor dining has proven to be an economic lifeline for restaurants struggling during the current pandemic. In addition to using already existing dining decks and patios, establishments have been claiming space from parking areas or alleyways and, with the cooperation of local authorities, spreading their seating out onto the streets.

But here in New England — and in many other parts of the country — this al fresco effort can only serve as a seasonal stopgap. Sooner or later the warm weather will end, making outside dining a much less viable alternative.

What are restaurant owners planning to do when cold winds start to blow? A recent article in Food Service Director, a publication that focuses on business and industry dining, described some of the steps operators are taking to sustain “alfresco” as deep into the winter as they can.

Some are investing in outdoor infrastructure — wind barriers, built-in heating systems, and canopy roofs.

Another option the article describes is the replacement of metal furnishings with materials like wood that don’t feel as cold to the touch.

One restaurant located on San Francisco Bay even offers blankets to patrons seated outside; the lap warmers are then laundered after each use.

All of these approaches have their downsides, however.

Efforts to enclose a space to keep the outside chill at bay are, by restricting air flow, likely to diminish the COVID-related benefits of “sitting outside.” Modifications like barriers and heating systems are also costly, a significant problem for restaurant operators already struggling with pandemic-diminished cash flow.

Some cold-season operators have instead decided to invest in ways to make their interior spaces safer through means like improving air flow and installing air filtration systems.

OpenTable.com.

The Inn’s Bake Shoppe is also open daily; the Publick House Historic Inn answers at 508-347-7323.

Westfield residents Eva and David Gosselin and their 6-year-old son have dinner outdoors recently at Johnny’s Tavern Restaurant in Amherst. (JIM RUSSELL / SPECIAL TO THE REPUBLICAN)

Efforts to enclose a space to keep the outside chill at bay are, by restricting air flow, likely to diminish the COVID-related benefits of “sitting outside.” Modifications like barriers and heating systems are also costly, a significant problem for restaurant operators already struggling with pandemicdiminished cash flow.

Side dishes • Lebanon, Tennessee-based Cracker Barrel Old Country Store recently announced a menu downsizing, ostensibly to make room for what the company described as “...new signature, craveable menu items that our guests love.”

The restructured bill of fare features a “Cracker Barrel Favorites” category that showcases signature items as well as menu additions the chain wants to highlight.

Among the second category are options such as a bonein ham steak, maple-bacon grilled chicken, and a Sunday-only pot roast supper.

Cracker Barrel operates Country Store locations in Holyoke at Whiting Farms Road and in Sturbridge on Route 20.

• Earlier this month Carrabba’s Italian Grill introduced an expanded menu that includes both new items and several returning classics.

Among the options debuting are an appetizer combo that incorporates fried calamari, mozzarella marinara, and stuffed mushrooms.

Rigatoni Martino, a new plant-forward pasta dish, is now available, as is a Tuscan-grilled ribeye steak and Grouper De Nisco, the latter a presentation of grouper filets finished with olives, tomatoes, lemon butter, and fresh basil.

The chain has also tweaked its Carrabba’s app so that it now supports contactless payment.

There is a Carrabba’s location on Riverdale Street

Hugh Robert Off The Menu

in West Springfield; they answer at 413-733-3960.

• The Publick House Historic Inn in Sturbridge has announced some minor modifications to its current dining locations and hours.

Indoor dining and outdoor patio seating is available in Paige Hall, the Barn, and on the Inn’s front patio.

Lunch is available Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Hours for dinner service are Monday through Friday 4:30 to 7:30 p.m., Saturday 4. to 7:30 p.m., and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Reservations are accepted and available through

• Now that the end of the day comes earlier, the Boathouse in South Hadley is offering a spectacular free show some evenings.

Situated on the banks of the Connecticut River and benefiting from views of Mount Tom, the restaurant, when conditions are right, offers impressive sunset vistas that coincide with the last of the dinner hour.

In addition to its regular menu of “New American” cuisine, the Boathouse also features nightly specials such as Almond-crusted Cod finished with lemon-caper butter.

The full menu is visible at boathousedining.com; the restaurant answers at 413536-2342.

• The Irish House Restaurant and Trinity Pub in West Springfield has rolled out a new dinner menu, which is currently being served on the restaurant’s terrace, in the socially distanced dining room, and packed for takeout.

Appetizer selections include roasted steak fries drizzled with cheddar sauce and Irish fish cakes made from crab meat, haddock, and baby shrimp.

Among the entree choices can be found braised pork shanks with a sweet pepper demiglace, Guinness slow-roasted pot roast, and roasted Irish chicken braised with bacon, cabbage, and onion.

Dinner is served Wednesday through Sunday evening from 5 to 9 p.m.

Call 413-342-4358 for reservations.

• This summer, Lattitude Restaurant in West Springfield has been featuring an “850 Degrees” menu of artisan pizza pies made in the restaurant’s wood-fired pizza oven.

SEE MENU, PAGE E12

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ASHFIELD

These shows are made for walking

By Michael Paulson

New York Times

Cheryl L. Dukes appears in the “Leonora’s Labyrinth of Tarot” section of “6 Feet Apart, All Together,” the 2020 edition of Double Edge Theater’s summer spectacle, in Ashfield. The pandemic has darkened theaters around the country — this summer, some are staging scenes in parks and fields for small groups of masked patrons. (LAUREN LANCASTER / NEW YORK TIMES)

edBlack STL has enlisted 14 Black artists to create arches along the show’s pathway, and each one has a QR code that can be scanned to hear some lines from “Midsum-

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of the future.”

Stories are told via film, dance, poetry, classical music and cabaret. Each evening, the audience is divided into 10 “brigades” (a name adapted from “The Decameron”) of up to 15 people; each brigade, led by an actor named for a character in “The Decameron,” sees five 20-minute scenes (to experience the whole 10-scene show, you have to go twice).

“The actors are a wayfinder through the night and through the complexities of what we need to do to keep the community safe,” said Barnaby Evans, who created WaterFire, an arts organization best known for a popular bonfire-themed sculpture event held, in normal years, on three downtown rivers.

In St. Louis, audience members (one household at a time; 16 households per night) will walk about 1 1/4 miles through scenes inspired by Shakespeare’s play: a dance company enacting a scene between Oberon and Titania; two violinists playing Felix Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” from a bridge; even a burlesque artist who performs with a Great Dane dressed up as a donkey, according to Tom Ridgely, the Shakespeare Festival’s producing artistic director. The first and final stops will be drawn directly from Shakespeare.

Those who can’t get tickets can still sample the project: A new group called Paint-

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In trees. On stilts. Atop a roof. Aboard a boat.

Night after night, actors dot the farmland behind a local theater in Ashfield, using every arrow in their quiver of stage tricks to maintain a safe distance from patrons who walk from scene to scene.

Double Edge Theater, an adventurous troupe based in Massachusetts’ rural hilltowns, was on tour in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when the coronavirus pandemic erupted. The tour — with stops planned in California, Michigan, Norway and England — was canceled, and the company headed home to quarantine its members and renegotiate its mortgages.

And then they started to dream.

“We can always be creative,” said Stacy Klein, the company’s founding artistic director, “even in times of loss.”

The result: “6 Feet Apart, All Together,” a new version of the theater’s annual summer spectacle, performed entirely outdoors for masked audience members who move through the show in small groups and are asked to stay apart from one another. All 22 performances sold out.

As the theater world tries to weather a pandemic that has shuttered stages from coast to coast, many companies have pivoted to streaming, and there are a variety of other endeavors, almost all involving nonunion actors, ranging from dinner theater to drivein shows.

Now several companies are attempting variations on what is sometimes called promenade theater — outdoor productions in which audiences move as they follow the action. The form — a cousin to street theater — has a long tradition, particularly in Europe, but has new appeal in

the United States this summer because of the relative ease of keeping patrons apart outdoors.

In Missouri, the St. Louis Shakespeare Festival, which canceled its annual Shakespeare in the Park productions, is instead offering “A Late Summer Night’s Stroll,” loosely based on “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” with 15 scenes at different sites in Forest Park. The free production, which runs through Sept. 6, has proved so popular that all 23 nights were booked before the first performance.

And in Rhode Island, the Wilbury Theater Group and WaterFire Providence are presenting “Decameron, Providence,” inspired

by Giovanni Boccaccio’s 14th-century work about young people trying to escape the Black Death; the show is being presented until Saturday at 10 locations on the grounds of a former locomotive factory.

“It would be easy to shut the doors and hunker down until there’s a vaccine,” said Josh Short, the Wilbury artistic director, “but times like this is when theater and storytelling is so important.”

The Providence and St. Louis events each involve multiple artists from those cities — different troupes on different stages — and both are attempting to respond not only to the pandemic but to the racial justice issues that have consumed America this summer.

“We started looking at COVID-19, but as the Black Lives Matter movement took center stage and social justice issues rose to forefront, it seemed like there was a lot more our artists would need to talk about,” Short said of the Providence project, which costs $10 to attend. “We asked each artist to build stories around idealized visions

mer” and some music.

In Ashfield, where the run ended Sunday, Double Edge presented eight scenes from a variety of myth-inspired works it had been performing over the years, including some still in development, all linked, Klein said, by the themes of “flight, loss and possibility.” Tickets were $42 for adults; at first, only 36 people were allowed per performance, moving through the scenes in three groups of 13; when it became clear that demand was high and safety was possible, that capacity was increased to 45.

Klein said the feedback has been intense.

“It’s just such an important moment for people to have something live,” she said. “We really appreciated being able to break down the barriers of the mask and the distance — to have people feel that they were together with us.”

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Menu CONTINUED FROM PAGE E10

Selections available include an appealingly simple tomato pie, a garden pie topped with zucchini, summer squash, basil, and mozzarella and a Greek pie that is finished with capers, sliced onion, olives, and feta cheese.

For those who like a pizza “meaty,” Chef Jeff Daigneau creates an Italian cold cut pie that’s topped with salami, capicola, prosciutto and mozzarella.

A white clam pizza is also available.

Lattitude Restaurant is open for dine-in and takeout service Wednesday through Sunday from 4 to 8 p.m.

Brunch is offered on Sundays starting at 10 a.m.

Call 413-241-8888 for more details.

• Teresa’s Restaurant in Ware has expanded its menu of frozen martini cocktails, adding a creamsicle variation to the lemoncello and watermelon varieties it was already serving. The creamsicle frozen martini can be enjoyed while dining in or ordered for takeout in either 12 ounce or one quart amounts.

The restaurant is also promoting a rescheduled “Ticket to Ride” Beatles tribute dinner show, now planned for Oct. 17. Call Teresa’s Restaurant at 413-967-7601 for more information.

• Mezze Bistro in Williamstown has capitalized on some unique aspects of its location to offer “Mezze Roadside Under the Pines.”

Located on a large piece of property on Route 7, Mezze has set up picnic tables (socially distanced, of course) in a grove of trees in front of the restaurant.

A full takeout menu is available on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings from 4 to 8 p.m. Guests pre-order online, designating whether they would like “to-go” or “roadside dining.” Those selecting the second option then can dine picnic-style in the pine grove; tables are available on a first-come, first served basis.

Mezze Bistro is located at 777 Cold Spring Road in Williamstown. Its website can be found online at mezzerestaurant.com.

Hugh Robert is a faculty member in Holyoke Community College’s hospitality and culinary arts program and has nearly 45 years of restaurant and educational experience.

Robert can be reached online at OffTheMenuGuy@aol.com.

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• The COVID-19 pandemic, like most any disruptive event, leads to both winners and losers.

In the restaurant industry the last several months have been a trying time, with independents and chains alike experiencing near-catastrophic drops in business.

The pandemic-caused shutdown has, however, benefited other restaurant brands in a big way.

Pizza chain Papa John’s recently reported that it enjoyed a record-breaking second quarter, with its stores experiencing an average increase in sales of 28% when compared to the second quarter of 2019.

Company management told the investor community that margins and profits were stronger than they had been in years.

Popeye’s Louisiana Kitchen also reported similar results, with its stores reporting a nearly a 25% increase in business during the second quarter of 2020.

In both instances the successes were attributed to a quick pivot to drive-thru and takeout; in the case of Popeye’s the chain’s sales also benefited from the fall 2019 introduction of a spicy chicken sandwich which subsequently went viral on social

media.

In both cases the brands had off-premises dining strategies already in place and wasted no time retooling their marketing campaigns to emphasize take-out, drive-thru, and delivery options.

Popeye’s, for instance, recorded a 100% increase in drive-thru usage during April 2020.

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