Ridgefield's Prospector Theater to Temporarily Close

Ridgefield's Prospector Theater will temporarily close on April 5 due to the pandemic, as well as a lack of studio releases, The Ridgefield Press reports.

"I value engineered the situation and decided it was not worth the risk to Prospects (theater staff) and the public by staying open," said the theatre's founder Valerie Jensen. "Being closed gives my team the ability to reduce the day-to-day operational noise and focus on reopening safely, whenever that may be. ... This was a move that we made ourselves."

The theater had initially closed on March 13, 2020, one week before Gov. Ned Lamont's "Stay Safe, Stay Home" order halted all nonessential, in-person business in Connecticut. The theater reopened three months later, on June 17, and staff was trained to work remotely should it temporarily close again.

"Through the entire pandemic, there was no outbreak attributed to having gone to the Prospector," Jensen said. "We drastically cut the capacity in our theaters, and stayed underneath the legal limit, and had an usher seating every party that came in to space out the groups."

The Prospector Theater is selling gift certificates to patrons for when it reopens. Donations can also be made at www.prospectortheater.org/donate.

Read more on The Ridgefield Press.