ELKHART — Good news for theater lovers! The Lerner Theatre in Elkhart will re-open next month with a live, in-person performance.

It’s been closed since March due to coronavirus, but with new safety guidelines, the show will go on.

The staff at the Lerner Theatre is literally setting the stage for the first live, in-person performance there in six months.

Concerns over the pandemic closed their doors, even though there was a promising event on tap.

“We closed down in the middle of March, right before what was going to be a sold-out Price is Right show, so that was devastating, but we did feel like we made the best decisions for our community,” said Michelle Frank. “It was a tough decision.”

But things are now looking up.

Approval has been given for eight live performances of The Sound of Music in about three weeks.

“It was really a strenuous process to get approval, the health department was very diligent in their protocols which was so appreciated, we were just so excited to be able to say we are opening.”

Patrons will need to wear masks and adhere to social distancing.

The theater has 1,700 seats, but that number will be scaled back to 250 open seats per show. Some rows will be blocked off for social distancing purposes.

Tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis.

As you might expect, the performers will have to make changes and adjustments when they are on stage following health, safety and pandemic guidelines, doing things a little bit differently.

The Sound of Music will be produced by the resident theater company, Premier Arts.

There will also be fewer people on-stage. Usually a production would have 60 to 100 performers.

“This one, as you would expect, to be able to keep socially distant we tried to keep it at a little bit smaller to make everyone feel safe in their space, so we have about 30 people in the cast for sound of music,” said Ashley Harrington.

As part of the safety protocols, seats will be cleaned and disinfected.

Restrooms will be disinfected every 30 minutes and sanitizing stations will be set up around the theater.

Source: WSBT