As an unfortunate result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Altoona Community Theatre has been forced to cancel their production of “Gypsy” the musical, which was scheduled to cap off their highly successful 2019-2020 season.
Originally slated to run April 30-May 3, ACT had postponed the production to July 9-12. But the ongoing uncertainty about whether a large gathering will be safe in the foreseeable future made it impossible to proceed with rehearsals and set production, according to ACT Board of Directors president Eric Wolf. “We knew we would have to make a decision by May 25 and, unfortunately, we simply had no other options.” Board members held a virtual meeting and reached the decision unanimously.
“We want to acknowledge the continued unwavering support of our corporate sponsor, M&T Bank, throughout this process,” Wolf said. “The staff of the Mishler Theatre have also gone above and beyond to assist is both with initially rescheduling and ultimately making the heartbreaking decision to cancel the run.”
Ticketholders have the option of making their purchase a donation to support ACT in lieu of requesting a refund, as a way to help ensure that the nonprofit community theatre can stay viable when able to reopen and resume productions again. Anyone wishing to donate in this manner does not need to contact ACT or the Mishler and will be acknowledged as a donor in next season’s program.However, ACT recognizes that many are facing hardships at this time, and refunds can be obtained by contacting the Mishler Theatre box office at 814-944-9434 or emailing boxoffice@mishlertheatre.org no later than Friday, June 26, 2020 at 3pm.