Goodspeed's World Premiere ANNE OF GREEN GABLES Musical to Be Postponed Until the 2021 Season

Today, Goodspeed Musicals Executive Director Michael Gennaro announced additional changes to the programming and operations at the theater. "We recently made the painful decision to cancel Candide and move South Pacific to the fall. We also had to postpone the Worklight Series at The Terris Theatre to next year." He continued, "unfortunately we now need to take further action in order to protect the well-being of our staff and our community."

The most immediate changes will be as follows: The summer production of the new musical Anne of Green Gables will now move to the 2021 season. Mr. Gennaro said, "It was heartbreaking for us to make the decision to postpone Anne of Green Gables, but it has become clear that we would not have enough time to build and rehearse the show in time for a summer opening. Our producing staff and the creative team both agree that launching a world-premiere musical takes special attention, which may not be possible until we are well past this crisis."

Anne of Green Gables will be produced in association with Justin Nichols, Eric Cornell and Jack Sennott who, in looking forward to a 2021 production shared, "We are so pleased to continue our partnership with Goodspeed Musicals in presenting Anne of Green Gables next year. When audiences are able to safely gather, we hope that our musical will help reinvigorate them with a feeling of optimism, hope and community that propels Anne and our own society forward."

Goodspeed will produce a single musical, Rodgers & Hammerstein's classic South Pacific at the Goodspeed Opera House instead of three this year. Performances of this sole production of the 2020 season are now scheduled to begin Friday, September 11.

In addition, the decision was made to cancel or postpone the rest of Goodspeed's summer events. The annual gala, which is Goodspeeed's largest fundraiser, will not go on in June as planned. The non-profit hopes to host the one-of-a-kind event in the fall. Lastly, the Goodspeed Kids Company Academy and all other classes offered by the Education Department have been canceled until further notice.

These dramatic program changes mean that the organization will face increasingly significant financial challenges. Mr. Gennaro stated that "all of these changes will cause a profound loss of revenue for our non-profit theatre, which we estimate to be in the millions of dollars. To mitigate those losses, we have instituted additional staff furloughs, layoffs and reduced salaries for those essential to keep the business going." He shared "this is the most painful part because it directly affects the lives of so many people who are passionate about their jobs and about Goodspeed."

All ticket holders will be contacted by email regarding their tickets and are asked not to call the Box Office due to very limited staffing. Patrons interested in helping are encouraged to donate their unused tickets for all cancelled performances as tax-deductible gifts to support our severely impacted theatre. Due to the closures and reduced hours, tickets holders are asked to be patient as our staff attempts to contact everyone.

Michael Gennaro expressed gratitude for the generous support from the Goodspeed members, patrons and the theater community. "We send our heartfelt thanks to all of you and are anxious for the day when we can once again gather together for heartwarming stories and songs of joy, laughter and love."