Olympia theater company postpones shows until March due to COVID-19 surge
An Olympia theatre company has postponed its live shows until March, citing a surge in COVID-19 cases.
Harlequin Productions, which stages its shows at at the State Theater at 202 Fourth Ave. E., announced the postponement on Wednesday. It’s next production, “Murder for Two,” will now run from March 11 to April 2 rather than Jan. 21 to Feb. 19.
Samuel Beckett’s “Endgame,” which was scheduled to run in March, has been canceled.
In a press release, Harlequin’s Artistic Director Aaron Lamb said it would be too dangerous for productions to continue during the surge in cases.
“We have hope that this will pass quickly, and we will be able to produce work on a regular basis moving forward,” Lamb said in a news release. “Our community has been too long without Real. Live. Theatre. We hope that we can get back to it without pause shortly.”
The decision came as Thurston County confirmed a record 1,658 new COVID-19 cases from Dec. 27 to Jan. 2. Disease activity appears to be on the rise as the more transmissible Omicron variant has rapidly spread across the nation.
Harlequin subscribers and single-ticket holders affected by the postponement will be reissued tickets for new dates in March. The company’s Box Office will mail out the new tickets by Feb. 1, according to the news release.
Ticket holders who may need to reschedule can contact the box office via email, at boxoffice@harlequinproductions.org, or by phone at 360-786-0151. Business hours are noon to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.
As a result of the rescheduling, “Murder for Two,” will run for four weeks rather than five weeks in March. Those with tickets for the fifth week of the production will be offered several options via an online form, including a full refund.
Patrons have until March 1 to complete the form or contact the Box Office directly, the release says. Tickets will automatically be refunded after that date.
No staff will be furloughed during the postponement period, according to the release. Rehearsals and other production activities will resume in late February.
The company describes “Murder for Two” as a murder mystery musical in which two actors “play all the characters investigating a dastardly crime.” The production will feature actors Katherine Strohmaier and Jon Lutyens.
