The Carmel Community Players board was committed to putting on the final two postponed 2019-20 productions, even if it meant delaying the 2020-21 season.
“The Last Five Years,” a musical that had been scheduled to run from April 24 to May 10, will shift to July 17-26, assuming rehearsals can start up again by May or June, CCP Board Vice President Rich Phipps said.
The July dates had previously been planned for CCP’s final show of the season: “Shipwrecked! An Entertainment,” which is now scheduled for September 18-27. Both shows, which had to be postponed because of gathering restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic, will be at The Cat in Carmel.
The 2020-21 season was set to open on the September dates.
“We will start our 2020-21 season in December and will announce the full season at our annual membership meeting, which is normally held in May,” Phipps said.
Phipps said CCP is planning a full season of five shows in 2020-21
“The Last Five Years” had been in rehearsals for a week before Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb issued the social distancing order.
CCP board president Lori Raffel is slated to direct “Shipwrecked!”
“I was just working up the audition notice for the last week in April when all this started happening,” Raffel said. “I gave up my July slot for ‘Last Five Years’ because we really want to complete the season for our patrons; season ticket holders, in particular. We did feel that it was important to produce these last two shows and we were lucky schedules worked out.”
Raffel is producing “The Last Five Years” while Phipps is producing “Shipwrecked.”
“This is a very funny show that Lori has wanted to direct for many years, and we think it’s perfect for CCP audiences of all ages,” Phipps said of “Shipwrecked!”
Meanwhile, Indianapolis Opera canceled its production of “Don Giovanni” March 20-22 at The Toby Theater in Indianapolis due to the pandemic. The opera company emailed a video link of the last dress rehearsal to patrons to view as a virtual opening night.
