After being closed for 21 months, the Goodspeed Opera House will reopen its doors to patrons again on Sept. 24, Goodspeed Musicals announced Wednesday.
In a statement, organizers said the East Haddam venue will host a production of “A Grand Night for Singing,” a musical showcasing the work of Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein. The show will replace a previously announced run of “South Pacific,” which Goodspeed Musicals Artistic Director Donna Lynn Hilton said would be too unwieldy to put on so soon.
“We must restart thoughtfully and ramp up slowly to ensure that Goodspeed remains secure for the long-term,” Hilton said. “With that reality forefront in our minds, we have made the difficult decision to re-open our beloved theatre with ‘A Grand Night for Singing’ instead of ‘South Pacific.’ ‘South Pacific’ is one of the largest musicals that a theatre can undertake and it had become overwhelmingly clear that it is simply too big of a show for us to produce in this particular moment.”
Goodspeed was forced to delay and then ultimately cancel its productions last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which effectively closed all indoor theaters and entertainment venues. In March, the theater company said it would begin to stage shows outside, on the Goodspeed lawn, this summer.
Tickets for “A Grand Night of Singing” will go on sale to the public on June 24.
