State restrictions on coronaviruses at public meetings are causing frictions in the entertainment network, as it continues to curb artistic offerings throughout the Hudson Valley.
According to Empire State Development, the state’s economic arm, the Center for Performing Arts in Rhinebeck, cannot host the Friday-held theatrical performances, and the Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, at the Woodstock site in Sullivan County. I can’t host a silent nightclub scheduled for August 15.
It is a resolution with which Dutchess County disagrees and led the county’s deputy director, Ron Hicks, to convey to the Journal the desire for the state to be clearer in its entertainment-related rules, and more receptive when asked with express questions that lie between the cracks of that orientation.
Coronavirus restrictions at public gatherings have closed artistic and cultural destinations in the Hudson Valley for months, the Bardavon Opera House 1869 and the Mid-Hudson Civic Center in Poughkeepsie are among the places they closed.
While the state’s position is consistent with some other resolution made earlier this week to deny City Winery Hudson Valley the opportunity to host concerts, the state also allows live music performances at venues like Daryl’s House in Pawling and The Falcon in Marlboro, which feature restaurants. . Training
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The first 2020 Kaatsbaan summer festival in Tivoli, which began on August 1 and is expected to continue on the weekend until September 27, raises its own questions. The loose occasion promoted through Gov. Andrew Cuomo in his daily email update on coronavirus on Thursday. Cuomo in the email said that the festival will feature “mainly solo duet performances or social distance” and that “New York State security measures are in a position to protect dancers and the public.”
On Friday, Kaatsbaan CEO Sonja Kostich did not respond to an investigation through the Journal that asked how the festival could be organized, given the ongoing restrictions on public meetings. Empire State Development said it’s reviewing the investigation.
The Rhinebeck Performing Arts Center, according to its website, has been conducting “A Chorus Line” outdoors on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from July 24 and is expected to continue until August 16. “Shrek, The Musical Jr.” Originally scheduled for August 2, but is now scheduled for Saturday after a postponement due to rain.
Lou Trapani, general manager of the Center, said he believed his organization allowed theatrical performances. Hicks claimed that he had attended a recent face-to-face function and discovered everything in order related to the Center’s artists, audiences, and operational plan.
Trapani said the media helps keep its audience limited to 50 on a lawn, at a distance of 6 to 10 feet; Artists must wear masks; and two other people at once, wearing masks, can enter the lobby to use two bathrooms.
With regard to the state’s position on Rhinebeck’s performance, Hicks in an email to the Journal: “We disagree respectfully.”
A spokesman for Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s workplace said this week that City Winery Hudson Valley in Orange County might not host five sold-out concerts because “these are giant high-risk meetings that create precisely the kind of environment we’re looking to create. avoid.”
Hicks, one of three officials from the New York County Paused Working Group, said the county was not a licensing firm for pandemic guidelines, but worked with Americans and organizations to achieve some compliance.
In his email to the Journal, he also said, “It is understandable that many questions accompany the rules; in fact, it’s to cover every single situation. Where there is ambiguity, and officially we ask the state for an explanation and get no answer, we work with organizations to create the safest possible environment, I would say that in many cases it is safer than corporations that have been opened and authorized from the beginning.
“My message to new York State is not to say it, but to write it. The state has ordered local governments to implement decrees and directives. Dutchess County took this mandate seriously. We have been an active spouse and have a lot of resources for months to make sure that our network this virus and prevent it from spreading. Without transparent recommendations and answers to our questions, it’s incredibly complicated to enforce the law. We’re getting to the point where we’re offended. »
Dutchess County Administrator Marc Molinaro agreed with Hicks.
Empire State Development responded to a request for comment on Hick’s statement.
After being informed through the Journal that the state had stated that the silent nightclub might not continue, a spokesman for Bethel Woods detailed the security measures put in place for the occasion. Bethel Woods also stated that it is in close contact with Empire State Development. But on Thursday afternoon, the occasion was cancelled.
A spokesman for Bethel Woods, who is in the box that hosted the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969, said the silent nightclub had a maximum audience of 50 people; Participants and staff have worn masks; there would be no live music; The food had to be available. and the occasion was to take a stand on the stage at Bethel Woods Terrace, which hosted a prom several weeks ago.
Silent nightclubs feature participants dancing to music that they pay attention to with wireless headphones. The Bethel Woods Sunset Silent Disco scheduled for the 51st anniversary of the Woodstock Festival in 1969.
John W. Barry: [email protected], 845-437-4822, Twitter: @JohnBarryPoJo