Mankato Playhouse Springing Back to Life
The Mankato Playhouse is open again and ready to bring productions to life.
The theater is located in downtown Mankato at 12 East Hickory Street. It houses all musical theater performances and Broadway Teen Workshops done by Davori Productions Co.
Because of COVID, they had to make multiple modifications to their daily routines.
Every Thursday before a weekend performance the theater has Fresh Start Cleaning come in and deep clean the entire theater. Additionally, ushers and volunteers also sanitize every area an audience member comes into contact with. This includes tables, chairs, railings, etc.
Other safety measures taken by the theater include reducing the number of seats in the theater, the addition of multiple hand-sanitizing stations, non-recycled programs, and a ticket-less check in. Masks are also worn by all Mankato Playhouse staff and guests.
The theater is now selling tables of two, four or six instead of seats. Multiple parties do not share the same table; each table is listed at different prices based on the number of seats. There is also the option of adding a four-course plated dinner.
David Holmes, Mankato Playhouse’s executive and artistic director, said one of the positive things arising from the pandemic is the ability to try this new form of seating.
“We were forced into doing what we already had planned,” he said, “but just making it happen sooner.”
Other modifications made include a change to the performance season.
“We were supposed to do ‘Addams Family,’ but because of the large cast and the way we intended to block the show and use the space of our entire theater, we were unable to do it. Instead, we flipped it with our performances of ‘The Last Five Years’ that was supposed to be performed in February,” Holmes said.
Holmes said he wants to remind the public, “We are open for business. We are continuing with our season, and our season will probably have modifications in the future. We are a nonprofit theater and we are doing our best to make sure we are still providing quality entertainment for our community. If people come back, I think they are going to be pleasantly surprised with how safe and sanitary our precautions are.”
The theater is currently hosting performances for the show “The Last Five Years” through Oct. 25 on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Their other shows for the year include “Godspell Jr.,” showing from Nov. 13-15 and “Scrooge the Musical” Dec. 4-Dec. 20.
Tickets can be purchased at mankatoplayhouse.com.
Header photo courtesy of the Mankato Playhouse website.