Theatres in Maine Begin to Make Plans For Reopening Safely

Theatres in Maine are struggling to reopen with current social distancing guidelines, which limit indoor gatherings to 50 attendees due to the health crisis, centralmaine.com reports.

The Elm in Waterville, which celebrates its first anniversary next month, has no shows scheduled until May of 2021.

"Our next scheduled event is May 1, featuring No Shoes Nation, which is a tribute band to Kenny Chesney," Bill Mitchell, who owns The Elm, said last week. "Then, we have a series of other shows scheduled after that - next summer."

Theatres across the state, including the Theater at Monmouth and the Maine State Music Theater, have either cancelled or postponed all of their upcoming shows.

Gardiner's Johnson Hall Performing Arts Center moved to a virtual format.

"We are one of the theaters that has not ceased," said Mike Miclon, Johnson Hall's artistic executive director.

A quarantine edition of the variety show The Early Evening Show has been streaming on Facebook, and an in-person event is scheduled for September with a limited audience.

Beginning in September, a 20-show season will launch in the smaller Studio Theater, with details to be announced in the coming weeks.

Read more on centralmaine.com.