COVID-19 forces cancellations of Chanhassen’s ‘White Christmas’ and Theater Latté Da’s ‘Scotland, PA’

COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on two major Twin Cities stages.

At Chanhassen Dinner Theatres, the coronavirus infection has put an early brake on its newest show, Irving Berlin’s “White Christmas.” Tuesday and Wednesday performances have been canceled.

Theater Latté Da also has scratched Thursday through Sunday performances of its new Macbeth-inspired musical, “Scotland, PA.”

“We woke up to the news of one positive case and we had a plan to cover up to three positive cases but not five, which is where we are now,” managing director Elisa Spencer-Kaplan said Wednesday. “The better part of valor here is to give everyone the time they need to time to rest and recover so that we can come back strong for our last week of shows.”

“White Christmas” opened last Friday, Chanhassen’s 56th birthday. The first COVID case was reported the following day. That set off a Jenga jigsaw as artistic director Michael Brindisi tapped understudies within the company to cover the roles for actors felled by the infection. The weekend performances went off without a hitch.

But as the new week began, others in the cast and crew also tested positive for the coronavirus. Chanhassen reached outside of its immediate performing ensemble for help, tapping veterans and technical crews from the past.

“It’s disappointing to everyone — to our guests who can’t see the show, to the artists who really want to do their work, to all of us who love to see the 1954 movie brought so beautifully to life,” said Joel Rainville, CDT’s director of sales and marketing. “We’re doing everything we can to ensure everyone’s well-being and to get things back on track.”

Chanhassen’s architecture may make it vulnerable to outbreaks. The company has only two large communal dressing rooms — one for women, one for men.

“If someone gets the flu, everyone gets the flu,” Brindisi said, adding that the southwest metro company’s intensive efforts include deep cleaning its spaces.

The cancellations come at a critical time for Chanhassen, a three-stage commercial venue that relies on its box office for sustenance. Performances of “White Christmas,” which runs through Jan. 25, are sold out in November and December. Seats are limited in October and January.

“Our box office has worked hard to re-seat our guests,” Rainville said. He added that this type of hiccup is something that occurs with sad regularity. The virus has affected every Chanhassen show since the company reopened in the wake of the pandemic, including “Footloose,” “The Music Man” and “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”

COVID also is affecting other Minnesota performing arts companies. At Artistry in Bloomington, there have been three cases around its production of “Rent,” but no cancellation so far.

“We’ve had a musician, a dresser and an actor down. So, as of right now, we think we’re going to be fine for this weekend, but it’s a daily proposition,” executive artistic director Kelli Foster Warder said Wednesday. “It’s just a bummer for the audience, a heartbreak for the artists and it’s expensive for the theater.”