NC Theatre sends 'Quarantunes' to patrons

"Many of those students put themselves on tape at home, singing one of their favorite show tunes, then we took those clips and sent them out to...some of our older patrons, so that they would have a little bit of theatre," NC Theatre Producing Artistic Director Eric Woodall said.

And that's not the only thing the theatre has been doing to bring the arts back virtually. The theatre is highlighting previous shows via a new feature called "Rewind" on its social media channels.

The coronavirus pandemic shut down stage productions in March while NC Theatre's production of "Memphis" was mid-rehearsal. The theatre had already spent money on the show, but wasn't able to recoup the costs.

"It's this big cycle," Woodall said. "We need everyone's support through donations and holding onto those season tickets, if at all possible."

"Memphis" was moved to July 28 through Aug. 2.

Woodall said the theatre will be giving away 1,000 tickets to the fall production of "The Sound of Music," which was rescheduled from this summer, to healthcare and medical workers.

"We're trying to extend a hand as we recognize so many people are reaching out their hands and supporting us," Woodall said.

NC Theatre costumer Denise Schumaker has been using her time to make face mask covers for the homeless. Schumaker and a team of other local costumers and seamstresses have donated about 400 masks to the Durham Rescue Mission.

"We gave her use of our costume shop, sewing machines there," Woodall said, noting that Schumaker is still in need of more cotton material to make more masks.