NORTHAMPTON — With Gov. Charlie Baker’s announcement that most Massachusetts communities can move to the next phase of reopening beginning Monday, performance venues such as concert halls will be able to reopen with up to 50% capacity or 250 people, whichever is lower.
The 50% capacity also applies to arcades and recreational businesses such as roller rinks and gyms, as well as museums, libraries, and driving schools.
Valley music venues, though, don’t anticipate reopening anytime soon, as promoters and owners say there’s still far too much uncertainty about the pandemic’s duration and intensity, and how that could affect renewed scheduling of events.
Debra J’Anthony, executive director of the Academy of Music in Northampton, says the vintage theater has tentatively scheduled some live events for spring 2021, in some cases shows that were previously canceled due to the pandemic. But for now, the Academy is sticking with live-streamed performances.
“We hadn’t planned on re-examining our scheduling until December, and (Baker’s announcement) hasn’t changed that,” J’Anthony said.
She noted that under the new state guidelines, the Academy, which can seat over 800 people, would be limited to having 250 people in-house. Factoring in performers and staff, she said, “You’re looking maybe at an audience of a little over 200,” not enough to be financially viable.
“Plus, we still have to be concerned over how safe everyone would be, what the risk would be to patrons and performers and our staff,” J’Anthony said.
The Academy has live-streamed a number of shows from the empty theater over the past few months, including one by children’s musician and songwriter Mister G of Whately. Two sessions of the Valley Voices Story Slam will also be live-streamed from the stage, on Oct. 8 and Nov. 5.
Jim Neill, marketing director of Northampton’s Iron Horse Entertainment Group (IHEG), which operates the Iron Horse Music Hall, Pearl Street Nightclub, Mountain Park and the Calvin Theatre, says IHEG is taking a “wait and see” approach to the state’s new guidelines.
“The live music industry ground to a halt in March, and it will take more than a green, or even yellow light to get it running again,” he wrote in an email. “Most of our concert schedule is the result of an elaborate national booking and touring ecosystem.
“Northampton is just one date on a band’s tour. Add in each state and city’s unique COVID regulations, which we’ve seen can change very quickly, and it becomes clear that this will be a complicated endeavor.
“It’s encouraging to see steps being taken,” Neill added, “but we’re going to be careful and deliberate with the process when the time comes.”
Also in Northampton, Jim Olsen, head of the Signature Sounds record label and The Parlor Room, said the uncertainty around the pandemic continues to make planning renewed in-person shows equally uncertain and problematic, even if an initial focus might be on shows by local and regional musicians.
In August, for instance, Signature Sounds had arranged a series of small outdoor acoustic shows at Black Birch Vineyard in Hatfield, for 100 audience members, when Baker abruptly limited outdoor gatherings to 50 people because of an uptick in COVID cases.
That left Signature scrambling to add a number of additional, reconfigured shows for just 50 people, Olsen noted.
Referring to The Parlor Room, he said “We’re just kind of in a holding pattern. We’re usually booking two, three, four months out, and even if we only did it for two to three weeks (in advance), there’s that risk the rules could change again and the whole thing gets blown up.”
In addition, 50% capacity at the Parlor Room would be about 40 people, and Olsen said that even if the state did not change the ground rules again, it’s not clear how many artists would be willing to play for an audience of that size — or how many people would be willing to come to a show.
The Parlor Room “is a pretty tight space, and I don’t know how comfortable we’d feel about having people there (during the pandemic),” he said. “Is it the right thing to do?”
Olsen said it might be possible to stage a show at some of the larger area venues where his company produces music, such as the Shea Theater in Montague, but even that remains uncertain.
“It’s just a frustrating situation,” he said.
Meantime, Lori Divine, co-founder and owner of Gateway City Arts in Holyoke with her husband, Vitek Kruta, said the venue won’t reopen until a vaccine for COVID-19 is available. “We don’t want to take any chances getting sick, either ourselves, our staff or the community … I just think it’s totally premature,” she said.
Earlier this year, Gateway raised about $35,000 via GoFundMe to keep the arts center going in “hibernation mode,” Divine noted. But that money has mostly been spent, and the arts center is seeking additional donations to stay afloat.
“It’s just a waiting game,” she noted. “We’re holding our breath.”
The governor’s announcement also affects other entertainment venues.
At the Hampshire Mall, both the Interskate 91 North Skating & Fun Center and the LaserBlast laser tag facility are now in the process of reopening, likely right before Veterans Day, after being forced to close in March.
But Bill Hoefler, who runs both sites as president of Rinky Dink Inc., said there is a lot of work to do before either will be able to welcome visitors again.
“We’ve been closed for six months and now have to plan how to get ready,” Hoefler said.
The rollerskating rink, which brings out rollerskaters and inline skaters and plays host to birthday parties and other functions, has been part of the mall’s Cafe Square food court since 1980.
Hoefler was already in the midst of renovations that included painting, cleaning and renovating the retail and arcade space, and those still have to be finished prior to reopening.
There will also be the need for preventive maintenance on the HVAC systems and refrigeration system shut down for six months, time for inventories to arrive and point-of-sale computers to be activated and staff to be hired.
The 10,000-square-foot skating surface, though, will allow plenty of space even at half-capacity. “It won’t be that much of a departure from what we’ve already been doing,” Hoefler said.
The laser tag moved into its new space below Interskate on Dec. 31, 2018, where a 4,500-square-foot lost jungle and pyramid arena was created behind the players’ vesting room. Hoefler said up to 24 players will be able to go inside at a time, allowing for social distancing and rotating and sanitizing vests between uses.
Hoefler said he believes families, teenagers and college students will be clamoring for these entertainment options.
“There’s a hunger for recreation and activity,” Hoefler said. “We can do all the things to make people safe and will work with the health department to make sure everything’s in order.”
Earlier in September, David Breen, who owns PINZ Bowl, said reopening his arcade, bowling alley and restaurant would depend on the rollerskating rink and Cinemark theaters getting back in business.
Mall General Manager Lynn Gray said the entertainment tenants, their employees and the community will all benefit from reopening.
“We are very excited about the most recent announcement and look forward to supporting our entertainment operators’ businesses in their reopening plans,” Gray said.
Gray added that she applauds the precautions being taken, including a focus on health and safety through social distancing, in preparing for resuming business, some as soon as next week.
