Dear Sunset Subscriber,
So much has changed in our world since we closed our doors on March 15. We have missed you, and we hope you have missed us as well. Given our mission as “a not-for-profit performing arts center serving the greater Milwaukee community by producing quality entertainment and education,” we have decided we need to return to producing quality entertainment for our community. We will do this joyfully with care, caution, and concern for our patrons, volunteers, and staff.
Over the past weeks, we have held extensive discussions to determine our Sunset Playhouse 2020-21 Guidelines/Requirements. Of course, these are subject to revision as our “new normal” continues to evolve. We understand that the decision to open, the guidelines themselves, and our plans will be up for debate – that no matter what path we take, there will be both acceptance and rejection. Please know, these guidelines have been crafted with the utmost concern for the safety off all who walk through our doors. Of course, upon review of the plan, only YOU can decide if you are ready to return to the Playhouse. If you return, we will welcome you with “socially distanced” arms. If you are not ready, we value and respect your decision and will look forward to seeing you again in the future.
- Patrons, volunteers, and staff MUST provide and wear face masks when inside Sunset Playhouse.
- Furlan Auditorium house size will be reduced to 138 (seating map attached).
- Marla Eichmann Studio Theater house size will be reduced to 56 (seating map attached).
- If a patron is ill on the night they hold tickets, we will offer a free exchange for a future show.
- Doors to building will open at 7 PM. As patrons enter, they will move directly to their reserved seats.
- Patrons will find social distance markings in lobby and hallways with lobby furniture removed.
- The Box Office window, concession counter, and Studio Bar feature plexi-glass barriers.
- Ushers will wear gloves and will not touch tickets.
- Programs will be a single-page, recyclable but not reusable, document with full production information available on the production’s web page.
- There will be sanitizing stations in the lobby.
- High-touch surfaces will be cleaned on a regular basis.
- For now, concessions will not be available. Patrons are encouraged to bring their own water bottles.
- The water fountain, center sink in women’s bathroom, and center urinal will be disabled.
- 9 to 5 and ELF have been replaced with A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM & A CHRISTMAS STORY.
- Performers will not wear masks during a performance but will maintain as much on-stage social distance as possible within script requirements.
- There will be no intermission for Musical MainStage concerts and SideNotes cabarets.
- Intermission for Furlan Auditorium productions will be lengthened if needed.
- Patrons will exit the theater by row, guided by ushers, starting with the back row and proceed directly to the exit.
- Unfortunately, post-show lobby gatherings will not be possible.
- Weather permitting, patrons will be able to greet performers outside door #7, the new “stage door.”
- Additional guidelines may be added—or some removed—as the situation evolves.
Thank you for reviewing the above material. We believe that, upon reflection, you will make a personal decision as to whether the time is right for you to return to the Playhouse in September of 2020. Please know that we respect whatever decision you make, just as we know you will respect our decision to move forward with care. We believe that the arts are more important than ever and look forward to once again offering entertainment options for our patrons, performance opportunities for our actors, volunteer activities for those ready to be busy again, and meaningful employment for our staff.
If you have already sent in your 2020-21 Season Subscription renewal and, given the new guidelines, no longer want us to process your renewal, please email us at boxoffice@sunsetplayhouse or call us at 262-782-4430 and leave a message with your cancellation information. We need to hear from you no later than July 6, 2020. If you decide to cancel, we will not process your renewal and shred the information you have sent us for this season.
If you have not mailed in your renewal information and have decided to not renew your subscription this season, no further action is required.
If we do not hear from you by July 6, 2020, we will process your renewal and do our very best to seat you either in “your seats” or as close to them as possible given our revised seating charts.
We value you as a subscriber and hope you are safe and healthy.
Remember: “Entertainment begins, and will now continue, at SUNSET”
Marla Eichmann, Board President, Sunset Playhouse
Nancy Visintainer Armstrong, Artistic Director, Sunset Playhouse
