Theatre Raleigh cancels 'Bud, Not Buddy;' Raleigh Little Theatre postpones 'The Jungle Book'

Theatre Raleigh will instead cancel its production of "Bud, Not Buddy," which was scheduled to open today. Raleigh Little Theatre is postponing its run of "The Jungle Book," which was to open March 20.

"Yesterday, Gov. Roy Cooper discouraged events of more than 100 people as a precaution against the COVID-19 virus," wrote Lauren Kennedy Brady, Theatre Raleigh's producing artistic director, in an email. "Our venue, the Kennedy Theatre at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts, seats 130 patrons. In accordance with recommendations from the Governor and [Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts,] I could not, in good conscience, move forward with this performance given the known and unknown risks to the public's health and safety."

She continued: "We are so disappointed it has come to this, and we are incredibly proud of the hard work that our cast and crew put into this show. We are exploring the possibility of potentially filming a performance (with no audience) and offering a video option for our patrons. All those details are up in the air at the moment."

Brady wrote that the group is happy to put the value of tickets toward a future Theatre Raleigh show.

Raleigh Little Theatre said plans call for rescheduling The Jungle Book.

"We are postponing performances of The Jungle Book (March 20 - April 5)," wrote artistic director Parick Torres in an email. "Community health and safety is our top priority, and we feel this is the best decision for the well-being of our patrons, volunteers, students, and staff. We are currently working to reschedule the production and will share the new dates as soon as they are solidified. Existing ticket orders will be honored at the future dates."

The email goes on to say that current ticket holders for The Jungle Book will receive an email shortly detailing their ticket options. Tickets will be honored when the production is rescheduled, so you can hold onto them until then.

Youth classes also have been rescheduled for the weeks of April 14 to May 30. Classes that were to start tomorrow Saturday March 14 will now start Saturday April 18. Anyone currently enrolled in an affected class has been sent an email with more information. Spring Break Camp, which is scheduled for April 6-10, will proceed as planned for now, according to the email.