As the omicron variant spreads in the Bay Area, including a“vertical wall”jump in COVID-19 cases in some parts of the region, local arts and entertainment companies must again confront questions familiar from an earlier era in the pandemic: At what point should they cancel performances, especially as New Year’s Eve events approach?
到目前为止,取消似乎大多局限于live in-person performances and events scheduled for the remaining dates in December or January, but that is enough to create a sense of early-pandemic deja vu for revelers hoping to ring in the new year outside of their pandemic lockdown digs.
Club Fugazi, whose new circus show“Dear San Francisco: A High-Flying Love Story”has filled the North Beach venue since October, became the latest to announce that its end-of-year festivities have been thwarted due to the omicron surge.
“Despite rigorous testing procedures, vaccine mandates, and extensive health and safety measures, a breakthrough case of Covid-19 has been detected amongst the company,” Club Fugazi said in a statement released Wednesday, Dec. 29.
“Dear San Francisco” performances are now canceled through Friday, Dec. 31, with the venue set to reopen no earlier than Jan. 7.
The news comes after several other venues hoping to ring in the new year like 2019 also began announcing plans to go dark for the last week of the year.
On Monday, Dec. 27, Oasis nightclub and cabaret ownerD’Arcy Drollingerannounced on social media that because of “the current rising numbers of the Omicron COVID-19 variant outbreak within our community and beyond; along with the daily rising numbers in the city of San Francisco,” he decided to close his South of Market drag club and theater venue until Jan. 7.
Drollinger’s statement went on to say that his team was “devastated to not be able to celebrate New Years Eve (and our 7th anniversary of being open) with our community, especially after all we’ve been through at this point.
“Our motto is always ‘the show must go on’ — but the safety of our staff, performers and audiences is always our top priority.”
Refunds for ticket holders for the Oasis New Year’s Eve celebration will be issued automatically.
Theatre Rhinoceroshad also looked forward to ending 2021 on a high note, with its Holiday Extravaganza on Thursday, Dec. 30, at the Gateway Theatre in San Francisco’s Financial District. But leadership there, citing the way the company — which bills itself as the world’s longest-running queer theater — has survived many other disasters, decided itdidn’t want to jeopardize the safety of the audience or its staff.
“We have shown our willingness to run acceptable levels of risk via our hit in-person production of ‘At the Wake of a Dead Drag Queen’ and literally dozens of in-person solo shows and readings in the earlier part of the ‘reopening of theatres,’ ” the company said in a statement. “Sadly, we have decided that the current climate does not afford an acceptable level of risk.”
Other New Year’s Eve cancellations in San Francisco include Great American Music Hall’s two nights with the Melvins, set for Thursday and Friday, Dec. 30 and 31, anda Ty Segall and Freedom Band show at the Chapel, which was to conclude a five-night residency at the Mission District venue on New Year’s Eve. The Chapel now plans to remain closed until Jan. 7,accordingto the venue’s Instagram.
“We’re a community music room, and it came to the dire fact of do we feel good about doing this within our community?” said Britt Govea, founder of Folk Yeah, which frequently books shows at the Chapel including the Segall residency. “We decided that as much as it hurts, and as expensive as it is — as much as we can all use the revenue from big nights like this right now after these last two years — it just felt a bit reckless to proceed.”
In Oakland, Elbo Room Jack London canceled a New Year’s Eve show from the East Bay rock band the Helltones.
“It all comes down to risk versus reward,” said Elbo Room co-owner Matt Shapiro. “We’re definitely still hurting for income, and it wasn’t an easy decision — this is our biggest night of the year. But these cases are spreading so quickly, it just doesn’t seem worth it to get everyone sick on one night.”
Shapiro currently plans to reopen the bar and venue Jan. 6.
Others are holding off on such drastic moves, including American Conservatory Theater, which is hopeful that “the City of San Francisco will release revised guidelines.”
“Our plan is to get through the holidays and then look to see what changes might need to be made in order to keep our staff, actors and patrons as safe as possible,” the company said in a statement.
If this variant is more infectious but less dangerous than the variants of previous waves, as some early datahas suggested,some producers might well wonder which early-pandemic policies still make sense. On Tuesday, Dec. 28, theCenters for Disease Control and Preventionupdated its COVID quarantine and isolation times, reducing from 10 to five the number of days asymptomatic or no longer symptomatic people need to isolate.
Indeed, for producers with shows after the new year, the outlook is hazier. For instance,Smuin Contemporary Ballet,having wrapped up its string of holiday performances, isn’t scheduled to perform again until February. Artistic Director Celia Fushille told The Chronicle that she was “monitoring the situation” rather than make any premature decision.
和“监控”似乎任何人都可以做的最好,especially as some arts leaders say they feel they’re left on their own in terms of any guidance from government officials.
“We are finding that the city and state health officials have little grasp of our timelines or the nature of what we do,” saidSusieMedak, managing director at Berkeley Repertory Theatre.
Berkeley Rep’s three January shows — “Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man and the Pool” (Jan. 4-23), “Swept Away” (Jan. 9-March 6) and Fran Lebowitz (Jan. 21-26) — are still scheduled to proceed. But many others with January performances have had to make tough decisions.
Among the first January cancellations related to the surge in COVID cases in the classical music world is Left Coast Chamber Ensemble’s “Living in Color,” which had been scheduled to run in Berkeley and San Francisco on Jan. 9 and 10, respectively. A spokesperson said the performances would be rescheduled for a later date.
On Monday, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley postponed its production of “Hershey Felder as Monsieur Chopin.” Originally slated to run Jan. 19-Feb. 13, it now begins performances Aug. 17.
“As the new ‘Monsieur Chopin’ is an intimate performance piece where we talk to each other as a 19th-century character and his students, it is important that audiences are safe to engage in this way with me in character,” said Felder in a statement. “I cannot thank you enough for your patience as I, too, await our time together this summer.”
TheatreFirst followed on Tuesday, Dec. 28, postponing “Balikbayan Box” byJeffrey Lo.The new play, originally scheduled to run Jan. 9-30, was to mark the company’s first production under the new leadership ofBrendan Simon.
“We received information about a possible COVID exposure within the cast and crew,” Simon said in a statement. “We want you all to know that this is a delay, not a goodbye.”
The news comes as Hugh Jackman, star of a highly anticipated Broadway revival of “The Music Man,” alsocame down with COVID,prompting the cancellation of performances until Sunday, Jan. 2. Co-star Sutton Foster had previously tested positive as well, prompting an understudy to go on.
AtSan Francisco Playhouse,where“Twelfth Night”is currently running, and “Heroes of the Fourth Turning” is still scheduled to begin performances Jan. 26, Artistic Director Bill English said the omicron variant “seems like part of the same chaos.”
At the same time, he added, the latest wave also feels different.
“We’re out in the middle of a process of trying to put on shows rather than just being shut down,” he said, noting the theater company has used more than half of its support received from the Paycheck Protection Program and theShuttered Venue Operators Grant.
Though one “Heroes” cast member has tested positive, English said he is still optimistic about 2022 since the show’s first rehearsals will take place on Zoom and because of the CDC’s updated isolation guidelines.
“We’re keeping our hopes up,” he said. “The thing we’ve learned is do your best and try not to have expectations.”
Chronicle staff writers Tony Bravo, Lily Janiak and Emma Silvers, as well as freelance writer Lauren Sloss, contributed to this report.