Vergennes Opera House Presents The Little City Cabaret
By: Stephi Wild Jul. 14, 2020
The all-volunteer group that manages the Vergennes Opera House, have announced plans to go forward with their 2020-2021 season and will kick it off this summer with the "Little City Cabaret."
"Our discussions about this season have been going on for some time, since mid-March when the enormity of the current health crisis began to settle in," said Gerianne Smart, president of the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House. "We opted to take a "when" attitude toward our season rather than sitting this year out and Governor Phil Scott's announcement about the expansion of audience sizes at events to 50% of capacity was exactly what we were waiting for."
The organizers have implemented a number of changes to accommodate event restrictions as per the CDC and the Vermont Department of Health's guidelines. One such accommodation is the presentation of the show over multiple dates to satisfy the 50% occupancy limitations. The Little City Cabaret show dates and times are as follows:
- Friday, August 14, 7:30pm
- Saturday, August 15, 7:30pm
- Sunday, August 16, 3pm matinee
The Little City Cabaret stars two Broadway veterans - Bill Carmichael (Walsh) and Elisa Van Duyne. They will be supported by three top-notch performers - Tim Barden (Spotlight Vermont), Jonny Barden, and Caitlin Walsh. All performers will be accompanied by Scott Nicholas known to many as the pianist at the annual Broadway Direct show.
The performers will bring to life the music of Broadway tunes both classic and modern. The cabaret will also be videotaped with the edited video made available to folks who attend the live performances ($12.50 ticket) as well as to those who purchase a ticket for the online show ($6.50). The link to the taped version will be emailed to ticket holders (edited with outtakes and behind the scenes snippets) within two weeks of the live performance.
The Friends of the Vergennes Opera House have strict COVID-19 protocols in place for volunteers, performers and audience members. The all-volunteer staff (Board of Directors) has completed the VOSHA COVID-19 Certification in preparation for the 2020-2021 season.
Other steps include the creation of COVID-19 Check List for VOH events, completion of a COVID-19 Risk Assessment Survey and creation of the FVOH COVID-19 Operation Plan.
The advanced planning process allowed the group to examine ways to present live performances again in a safe and enjoyable environment. Here are some of the protocols:
- Paperless tickets (online only)
- Contact Tracing procedures in place
- COVID-19 symptom screening of all attendees at the door
- Temperature check (infrared thermometers)
- 100% reserved seating 6'+ apart
- 50-person audience limit (to a maximum of 70)
- Audience seating begins more than 15' from the stage edge
- Performers 6' apart and using dedicated mics
- Infection control protocols for all surfaces
- Hand sanitizing stations throughout the theater
- Mandatory face coverings for everyone unless and until seated
- Guests may bring in a picnic and must take all items (including debris) home
"The performers are working with us to help design a process that we can use going forward into the season," said Ms. Smart. "We are all on the same page and taking our time and thinking through and documenting everything we are doing so we can continually improve upon our safety measures."
Access to tickets to the Little City Cabaret can be found by visiting www.VergennesOperaHouse.org.
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