THEATRE BY THE SEA POSTPONES
2021 SUMMER SEASON
WAKEFIELD, RI – Due to the COVID restrictions and capacity limits currently in place in the state of Rhode Island, coupled with the safety protocols required by the artistic unions with which Theatre By The Sea is associated, Bill Hanney, Theatre By The Sea’s owner and producer, has announced that the theatre will be unable to move forward with the originally planned 2021 summer season.
The theatre is in communication with the publishing houses which hold the licensing rights, in order to secure permission to produce the previously selected musicals during the summer of 2022. Subscriber tickets will automatically be transferred to the 2022 season.
“Although we are unable to move forward with the season we had planned, we have gotten permission to reschedule the pre-season production of Mamma Mia! until the end of the summer,” said Mr. Hanney. “We are hopeful that the majority of the population will have been vaccinated and that the regulations will have changed substantially, allowing us to return to our beloved barn.”
Mamma Mia! is currently scheduled to be presented from August 18 – September 5. Previously purchased tickets will be automatically transferred to the corresponding performance.
In addition, numerous scenarios are being considered in the hopes of providing additional entertainment to the community this summer. An announcement regarding exact plans will be made once details have been solidified.
The Theatre By The Sea box office is currently closed. For any questions or concerns, patrons should send an email to boxoffice.tbts@gmail.com and someone will respond as quickly as possible.
Theatre By The Sea has had many incarnations since opening on August 7, 1933. Tommy Brent saved the theatre from demolition in 1967 and ran it successfully until FourQuest Entertainment took over the lease in 1988.
Following extensive renovations, FourQuest reopened the theatre in the spring of 1989 and continued producing high quality entertainment at the seaside playhouse until the fall of 2003.
Bill Hanney purchased the property in 2007 and, with producing partners, successfully mounted a production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, just six weeks later, reopening the historic theatre on August 8, 2007.
Since then, Theatre By The Sea has continued to produce a four-musical subscription season, a late-night cabaret series, a children’s theatre festival, and a children’s summer theatre camp.