Local theaters face setbacks in the wake of Hurricane Helene

Above, NC Stage Co.’s almost-finished set for The Last Wide Open, photographed on Oct. 9. Work ceased Sept. 27 when the theater lost power due to damage from Hurricane Helene. The set will be disassembled and stored in the hope that it will eventually be rebuilt and completed, possibly later in the 2024-25 season.

Maria Buchanan is experiencing a sense of déjà vu — and she’s not alone.

Four years after the COVID-19 pandemic temporarily shuttered theater companies across the U.S., causing financial setbacks from which the industry is still recovering, the marketing and communications director for NC Stage Co. and her Asheville-area colleagues are facing a new set of challenges.

Destruction from Hurricane Helene in late September has left the downtown theater without internet, phone service or water, in turn canceling NC Stage’s production of the romantic comedy The Last Wide Open, which was set to open Oct. 10. Flat Rock Playhouse, The Sublime Theater, Different Strokes Performing Arts Collective, and Montford Park Players have also nixed or pressed “pause” on shows that were scheduled to start in early October. And while companies that have had necessary utilities restored are continuing as planned after a brief delay, uncertainty looms for stages with no return date in sight.

Immediate concerns

“We are, of course, longing to be together with our audiences in the theater, and are working towards making that happen as soon as possible,” Buchanan says. “When a community is in crisis, our nature is to gather and support one another in a group, and we continue to see evidence of this on our streets and in our neighborhoods, as well as in our city and region in general.”

Buchanan adds that, unlike during COVID, such gatherings can take place without extreme health risks — but only on an administrative level as theaters await the return of water for toilets, sinks, and fire sprinkler systems, without which they can’t host audiences. And the longer theaters are closed, the more difficult it will be to bounce back for the second time in a handful of years.

This precariousness weighs heavily on Steven Samuels, producing artistic director for The Sublime Theater, who was set to have Death Comes To Play, his first new play in seven years, debut on Oct. 3 at downtown’s BeBe Theatre. The show is now delayed indefinitely, and though the writer/director notes that the work is mostly comic, he’s admits it’s hard to imagine a production with that title being viable in Asheville for a while.

“Once again, recently — this seems to happen periodically — it was beginning to feel as if [the local theater scene] could, at last, be ready to fulfill its promise and take its rightful place among the other arts celebrated locally and, indeed, beyond the confines of our little mountain town,” Samuels says. “Now, that project may have been delayed another five to 10 years, and it may never happen. How many of our artists will choose to depart rather than to stay and struggle on? How much of our audiences will move away?”

The relocation of cast and/or crew members could be an issue for shows that have committed to new opening dates. Different Strokes’ was slated to open Dear God on Oct. 3 at its home base, the Tina McGuire Theatre in the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. The world premiere of Lisa Langford’s play has been rescheduled for a run of Feb. 6-23, which raises more immediate challenges.

“This [delay] is devastating for the actors and the rest of the production team who were looking forward to revealing what we'd been working on for five weeks — and financially for Different Strokes because we won't have the opportunity to recoup production costs in a timely manner,” Hickling Beckman says. “We essentially have about $10,000 sitting in frozen until the production can see ticket sales.”

She adds that additional production costs will be incurred once the production resumes. Tina McGuire is booked from Nov. 18 through December, which pushes Different Strokes’ season back several months. Dear God’s new run dates were originally when Mildred Inez Lewis’ Juked was set for its world premiere, but now the latter show has been pushed to May 1-18 — the slot originally slated for the third iteration of the 369: Monologue & Short Play Festival.

“In response to the shows' rescheduling, we have offered the holders of previously purchased tickets the opportunity to change their dates, request a refund or donate the cost of the ticket to Different Strokes,” Hickling Beckman says.

Ripple effects

Montford Park Players’ production of William Shakespeare’s Richard III is also on hold as the Hazel Robinson Amphitheater remains without power or water, and closures are additionally hitting theaters outside of Asheville.

Flat Rock Playhouse still lacks property-wide power, phone lines and internet service, resulting in the cancelation of the Martin Luther King, Jr. drama The Mountaintop, Oct. 4-13, as well as Cats, which was set to run Oct. 25-Nov. 10. However, Playhouse Jr. classes resumed Oct. 14 at FRP’s education center, where utilities have been restored.

A few miles north, Hendersonville Theatre delayed its production of Stephen King’s Misery by one week to Oct. 24-Nov. 3. Proceeds from the show will be donated to the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Interfaith Assistance Ministry, and Rural Organizing And Resilience WNC.

“As we recover from the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, bringing this show to life is a testament to our community’s resilience," says Victoria Lamberth, Hendersonville Theatre artistic director, in a press release.

Haywood Arts Regional Theater in Waynesville is taking a similar altruistic approach for its production of Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap. Along with rescheduling performances to Oct. 17-27 and Nov. 8-17, the theater will donate 50% of profits from this run to WNC theaters struggling to reopen after Hurricane Helene.

The aid is welcome, but as the local theater community and Asheville overall recover from the widespread damage, the future feels murkier than ever. And yet, hope endures.

“I suspect that when we come out of this, Asheville will look and feel much more like 1994 than 2024,” Samuels says. “There may be unanticipated benefits: we may become more focused on community and ‘local’ again than on tourism. We survivors and fighters may be more fiercely committed to this place, to these people, and to each other than ever before. And theater may, once again, become a way for us to speak to and share with one another about what matters most, to celebrate, and to be entertained. May it be so!”

Asheville Stages is committed to covering the city’s arts scene as it rebuilds following Hurricane Helene. Please subscribe to our mailing list here and consider becoming a paid subscriber.