The Show Must Go On!

We're taking precautions, but still singing Broadway Backwards

Updated March 13 9:00am: The Governor yesterday banned groups over 1000 from congregating, and encouraged groups over 250 to cancel events. Our show is intended for less than 250. We plan to continue performing. We will limit ticket sales to 200 so that with staff, cast and crew our number will be well under the limit.

The remainder of this article was originally written on March 10: 

Governor Pritzker today declared a state of emergency due to the coronavirus spread. Numerous sources explain it's a necessary step to get federal funding to help pay for the state's efforts to fight the virus.

Given this, we plan to follow the old adage "The Show Must Go On!" but of course we will take precautions and understand if our followers don't choose to attend. 

The CDC and many health officials have given us simple guidelines in the face of this virus.  Precautions like limiting hand-shaking, limiting touching your face, keeping your hands clean by regular and thorough washing, and of course, staying home if you're already not feeling well or if you feel you are susceptible. We plan to follow these guidelines and will post signs reminding our audience to follow them as well.

Our large cast and production team have worked hard to create this show. It would be a shame to cancel it.  It's also very difficult to get performance space and coordinate so many schedules, so we doubt that postponing the show is even possible. 

Having the show is a necessity. "Backwards Broadway" is a fundraiser for a very special summer season. We committed to bringing our community a lesson for our time: three shows to celebrate our freedoms and the resiliency of the human spirit against oppression, division and hatred in the events leading up to World War II. 2020 is the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auchwitz and the end of the war. With so many parallels - xenophobia, nationalism, racism, anti-semitism - between that time and today, we feel we can in a small way remind the community of the horrors of that time, so, to paraphrase Churchill, we won't be condemned to repeat it.

As you have heard or read, our shows this season make up a kind of three act play: "Cabaret," the beginning of the war, "The Diary of Anne Frank," the depths of despair, and "The Sound of Music," the escape and victory over oppression. Of course, our commitment takes money to pay for licensing, scripts, costumes, set construction, and more. 

Buying a ticket to Broadway Backwards will help us make this season special for the community. And of course, buying a Season Ticket or a ticket to one or more of the shows helps too. We keep our ticket prices low so everybody in our community can afford them. 

After you buy a ticket online, you're given a chance to make an additional donation. Please consider doing so to help us that much more. 

And of course, we'd love an outright donation without a ticket purchase, too!

We leave it in our fans' capable hands. We'll be singing this weekend. We'd love to see you there. If you can make it, please get your ticket now. Click the button below.  If you're feeling under the weather, please stay home. If you're feeling susceptible, you should probably stay home likewise. If you can't attend, please consider making a donation to help fund this great summer season. Any amount is appreciated. Click the Donate button below to go to our Donation page, fill in an amount, and the donate button will appear.

Thank you for your understanding, your patronage, and stay well!

- Don Gingold, President, The Summer Place