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The show will continue. This is the wish of the members of the board of directors of Playmakers after Hurricane Ida brought down a large pine tree, damaging part of the theater in Covington.
“He fell right on our roof and made a hole right above the stage,” said Anysia Genre, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Playmakers. “It took us a little while to pull it off, and of course it cost a lot. “
The theater, founded in 1955, has insurance to help cover the costs of removing trees, putting up the tarp, and building repairs that follow.
But to help cover the insurance deductible and cover running costs for one to two months, the theater has launched a GoFundMe campaign, accessible through a link on its website. https://playmakers-theater-05.webself.net with a goal of $ 8,000, Genre said.
“We really needed to start GoFundMe so the community could help us if they could. I mean everyone’s having a hard time, ”Genre said. “Every little bit counts, even if it’s $ 5.”
State-imposed crowd restrictions have forced Playmakers to postpone some of its shows and fundraisers for the past 18 months. “We were really starting to bounce back actually because the restrictions were getting a little looser for a little while. Then we had the fourth wave, so we pushed the show off, ”Genre said.
Originally slated to begin in September, the postponement of the season opener, “Marriage Secrets,” turned out to be fortuitous, given that the hurricane made landfall on August 29. Due to the damage to the roof and the prolonged loss of power, director Joe Starzyk, a transplant recipient from New York who also wrote the play, had to move the rehearsals.
“We have a really good cast, and they’ve been flexible. I tried to be as flexible as possible with them because I recognize that everyone has different things that they deal with. There are normal things with community theater, in that everyone has a job, a family and other responsibilities, ”Starzyk said. “But the whole hurricane… provides a unique set of challenges because some people had no electricity and had not for a long time, or access to the Internet.”
As rehearsals for “Wedding Secrets” continued, board members worked to secure a tarp on the roof. Now they’re “working to get this fixed ASAP, but we’re still opening the show as scheduled.” We are really looking forward to it and hope people will come, ”Genre said.
Affectionately known as “The Barn,” the Playmakers building on Lee Road has already suffered damage. There was a fire a long time ago and the 2016 flood that flooded the theater and forced it to undergo expensive mold remediation, as well as purchase new seats, install new upholstery from floor and other repairs that drained the theatre’s savings.
In addition to the roof, repairs must also be made to the damaged theater pump shed and the fences must be replaced.
“And we desperately need – we needed it before the storm, but it’s so expensive – to level the land to help the water flow. Whenever we get a heavy rain, our backstage tends to soak up water. We did everything we could do on our own. I think at this point we really need a professional landscaper to do something permanent, ”Genre said.
Despite the setbacks, the theater board members are determined to keep going. Before the Storm, they were working on a fundraiser – a special called “All Together Now” that features hit Broadway performances. The show’s license is offered for free to cinemas nationwide for a weekend in November as part of a resurrection of the theatrical campaign.
“We’re really trying to stay relevant in our community and we want to keep going. We want to keep the doors open. We’re not giving up, ”Genre said.
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