The Show Will Go On at the Bardavon Theater
By: Jessica Santacroce
Tags: Theater, Music, Bardavon, Dance, Arts And Culture

The Bardavon is renowned for its ability to “enrich the lives of children by exposing them to the extraordinary theatre, dance and musical programs”. The artistic restrictions due to the pandemic have been devastating for children in particular.

Going from three to five shows per week to being closed for business was not just hard on The Bardavon Theater and staff, but also the adults and children of the Hudson Valley.

The Bardavon allows the people of the Hudson Valley to artistically express themselves in extraordinary ways through theatre, music and art.

Tom Rosato, Technical Director and Audio Engineer at The Bardavon, considers himself “very fortunate,[The Bardavon] has handled this very unprecedented time with the interest of the staff at the top of the priority list”.

When the theater decided to close their 944 seating venue back in March of 2020, no one expected them to be closed for what is going to be more than a year. However, the theater is considering a few possible reopening options for Fall 2021.

Rosato says, “As of now, it’s looking like it will not be a ‘grand reopening’ where we go back to doing 3–5 shows a week. It will likely be a slow, phased-in process, where we integrate reduced capacity in-person events with broadcast and online events.” Despite the challenges and new format, “It’s a new model of doing business and we are excited to see how it goes!” Rosato said.

Due to how “hands-on” Rosato’s job at the Theater is, he says, “I’ve been going into the theatre two days a week to maintain the theatrical systems.” It’s not what he’s used to but a few positives he’s found amidst all of this is that it’s “been nice to put on ‘Alice In Chains’ on full blast and work by myself all this time,” said Rosato,“when we do reopen, the theater has never been this stocked, clean, and ready to go!”.

One of the best parts of his job for Rosato is getting to see the looks on children’s faces when seeing their first piece of theater or music. “It’s truly magical to see their faces light up, and the impact that live events have on a child’s perception of their own career possibilities, creative potential, and sense of community cannot be understated,” said Rosato.

To counter this, the theater has offered several virtual events, although not the same, the events still allow The Bardavon to offer their diverse audience of the Hudson Valley live works of art. A favorite event of Rosato’s from the past year was a virtual event held with Vassar College through their annual ‘Modfest’, “We had a Grammy Award-winning Quartet, the Attacca Quartet, do an entire performance of original work.”. The event was not only special because it was mid-pandemic and virtual but as Rosato says, “working with Attacca was an honor that only comes a few times in life if you’re lucky!”.

The Bardavon Theatre has plans to continue virtual events as they get ready excited for reopening. In the meantime, donations are a top priority and needed now more than ever. For more information and opportunities for donation, please visit www.bardavon.org.

(BadravonPresents Instagram)

(BadravonPresents Instagram)

(MeetTheTeam website)