SIOUX FALLS (AP) – Musicals scheduled in South Dakota's two largest cities have either been postponed or scrapped due to the coronavirus.
A musical that was set to run this weekend at the Orpheum Theater in Sioux Falls was postponed to Sept. 29 and 30 after two members tested positive for COVID-19. The production of “Lost in Vegas,” held by local theater company Lights Up, held its opening run last weekend in front of about 200 people each day.
After one cast member had tested positive for COVID-19 this past week, the show went on Thursday after officials blocked the first two rows and warned the 150 people in the audience about the results, director Brent Grosvenor told the Sioux Falls Argus Leader.
“We did the right thing, we talked to the cast, the cast made an informed decision still to preform,” Grosvenor said. "We had understudies replacing sick actors and that’s how the real world works.”
After another cast member tested positive for the virus on Friday, theater officials called off the rest of the weekend shows.
In Rapid City, the Black Hills Community Theatre in Rapid City announced Friday it had canceled all planned performances of the musical “Matilda” following the increased spread of COVID-19 infections in the region.
Theater officials told the Rapid City Journal the musical involves a cast, orchestra and crew of nearly 50 people and many younger participants are not yet eligible for vaccinations.
