Cortland Rep Cancels Production of MARY POPPINS

Cortland Repertory Theatre has announced the cancellation of their final production of the 2022 summer, Disney and Cameron Mackintosh's "Mary Poppins". The musical was to run from August 3 - 20.

Producing Artistic Director Kerby Thompson has made the following statement: "We are deeply saddened that we have decided to cancel this production. In the interest of transparency: the day before rehearsals started, it was discovered that two of our cast members had developed positive cases of Covid. Both cases were contracted from outside of the CRT company, and both individuals were immediately quarantined. They are feeling fine with mild symptoms. However, out of an abundance of caution for the children who were to be in the production, and the insurmountable challenges of going into rehearsals missing two cast members for at least the first 5 days of quarantine, our Board of Directors voted unanimously to cancel this production."

Thompson stresses that the cast members of "Poppins" and the cast members of the current production of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" are completely separate. "The two groups of actors are housed in different apartments and have had little to no interaction with each other. Patrons should have no concern about attending 'Orient Express'."

Also, The Bright Star Touring Company's children's productions of "The Little Mermaid" on Thursday, July 28 at 10:00 and "Upcycled Cinderella", on Friday, July 29 at 10:00, will continue as scheduled. "This touring company has absolutely no interaction with any of our actors, as these shows come to town just for these performances and stay in locations separate from our company," Thompson said. Tickets for the Bright Star shows are $5.00 per person, and performances will be held at the Pavilion.

CRT offers three options for patrons who have purchased tickets to "Poppins", whether as individual tickets or as part of a subscription or flex pass: tickets may be exchanged for "Orient Express", may be offered as a donation to CRT for the loss of income of the cancellation, or may be refunded. "Orient Express" is currently running through July 30.

CRT Board President Nicole Cottone said the following: "Since the beginning of the pandemic, CRT has made difficult decisions with the safety and well being of our company, staff and patrons in the front of our minds. We are proud of the work we have done to continue operations, and are happy to be able to move forward with "Orient Express", even if it means that it is an unexpected ending of our 50th Anniversary summer."

Thompson also states that this in no way means CRT is closing operations. "We are continuing to work on an exciting series of shows and events for this fall at CRT Downtown. Our Fall Fiber Arts Festival scheduled for October 8 and 9 will go on as planned. CRT is still active and we certainly plan to revisit a production of "Mary Poppins" in a future summer."

CRT asks for patience from patrons with tickets, as the Box Office staff will be addressing exchanges or refunds as quickly as possible.