As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, Goodspeed Musicals is postponing another show until next year and is facing the loss of millions of dollars in revenues due to various postponements and cancelations. It consequently has had to increase the layoffs and furloughs it had already started instituting last month.

On Friday, Goodspeed announced that it is moving the musical "Anne of Green Gables” from this summer to 2021. In late March, Goodspeed canceled "Candide," which was to be staged at the Opera House in East Haddam, and moved the start of the three-show Worklight Series at its Terris Theatre in Chester from 2020 to 2021, all due to the coronavirus fallout.

That means that Goodspeed will now produce just one musical in 2020, Rodgers & Hammerstein’s "South Pacific.” It was supposed to be the Opera House’s spring musical but is now scheduled to begin Sept. 11.

The fact that Goodspeed will be producing only that one show in 2020, Executive Director Michael Gennaro said, “is painful. The effects on the organization are profound, and I think what’s hard — it's hard for everybody in different fields — but to have an organization that’s been around for 60 years and that’s never encountered anything like this, it’s just strange. It’s strange to drive by the Opera House and see nothing going on. But that’s the reality.”

The run of the world premiere of “Anne of Green Gables” was supposed to begin on July 10 at the Opera House. Rehearsals usually start about five weeks in advance of the opening, and sets are being built well before that.

“I was getting more and more concerned (as I was) speaking to other managers across the country and listening to what was going on on Broadway,” Gennaro said. “I did not want to put my staff at risk to have to come in and start building in close proximity to each other. I didn't know for sure yet what would be going on in terms of being able to get actors out of New York and up here. I think we all just decided we had to be cautious and take care of the staff and the community, and it made sense not to go ahead with the show.”

In general, Goodspeed has been trying to keep a step ahead and be cautious. Gennaro noted that Gov. Ned Lamont on Friday extended the mandatory shutdown in the state through May 20, and that reinforces the decision that Goodspeed already had made about “Anne of Green Gables.”

Major loss of revenue

The cancelation and postponement of shows until next year means a huge loss of revenue for Goodspeed this year. The ticket revenue for two shows can be about $3 million to $3.5 million.

Goodspeed last month had instituted some furloughs, which now are being extended to the end of July. About 80 employees are on furlough, and six more people have just been laid off, adding to the five who were laid off in late March.

In addition, the actors, directors, designers and others who had been or would have been hired for the now-nixed shows will not have those jobs.

Goodspeed, meanwhile, usually operates with well over 100 people but is now trying to get into a rhythm of operating with about 20 people. “Everyone, including myself, is on a reduced salary schedule, up to about 50% of their normal work hours,” Gennaro said. 

People who bought tickets for “Anne of Green Gables” will be contacted by email about their tickets. They can get a refund, but the nonprofit theater also is reminding patrons they can donate their unused tickets for the canceled performances as tax-deductible gifts to support Goodspeed.

No fundraising gala in June

Another newly announced decision: Goodspeed's annual gala, which is its largest fundraiser, will not take place in June, although the organization hopes to host it in the fall, probably October.

“I would imagine it would be a different kind of event. I don't know exactly what that means — we haven’t really talked about that in detail. But if we're all back and running, it might be a nice time to have a celebration event,” Gennaro said.

The Goodspeed Kids Company Academy and all other classes offered by the Education Department also have been canceled until further notice.

Gennaro does, though, sound a note of optimism.

“We will be back,” he said. “It will definitely be a wonderful moment to do the first performance of ‘South Pacific,’ to get everybody together and be able to do that on some level — that’s what we all need. We all need something to look forward to.”

k.dorsey@theday.com