Seattle Theatre Group's Josh LaBelle Remains Optimistic as Guidelines Allow 50% Capacity in Venues

Seattle Theatre Group was forced to close three theatres one year ago - the Paramount Theatre, The Neptune and The Moore. Now, optimism is returning, thanks to new guidelines from Governor Inslee, allowing venues to reopen at 50% capacity, KING5 reports.

Even at 50% capacity, Executive Director Josh LaBelle says it won't be enough to bring major touring artists back to the stages.

"We are not able to open the Paramount Theatre at 400 capacity and make financial sense out of that," LaBelle said.

However, he is remaining optimistic that this is just the first step in the road to recovery for the live music industry.

"That's going to take some time," he said. "I'm hopeful that by the fall, that's going to be possible."

While things are finally looking up again, LaBelle believes that this past year has changed the scope of the industry for the long term.

"The whole touring infrastructure has been disrupted, interrupted, maybe changed for quite some time," he said.

Watch the full report on KING5.

Seattle Awards - Live Stats

Best Musical - Top 3

1. JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT (Spokane Valley Summer Theatre)

7.9% of votes

2. REEFER MADNESS (The Spartan Theatre)

7.4% of votes

3. THE COLOR PURPLE (Village Theatre)

7.4% of votes

Vote Now!