LIFE

Des Moines Playhouse to present drive-in-style theatre performances

Paula Reece
Special to the Register
Des Moines Playhouse Live Theatre Drive-In starts June 12 and continues nearly every weekend through August 15.

The Des Moines Playhouse recently made the tough decision to cancel all shows through Aug. 30 in an effort to keep its audience members, casts and crews safe from COVID-19. However, that didn’t stop Executive Director David Kilpatrick from brainstorming workable alternatives. 

“It started as: What kind of theatre can we do within the confines of recommendations and requirements for COVID-19?" Kilpatrick said. "Can we do a two-person play, keeping our performers as safe as our audiences?”

He immediately thought of “Rounding Third,” a play he had done years ago, which takes place at a ball field and has only two actors. “As I got more and more excited and started looking at all the logistics, I started looking at our parking lot and thinking, ‘What about here?’”

And with that, Live Theatre Drive-In was born. Starting June 12 and continuing nearly every weekend through Aug. 15, the Playhouse will present three, two-person-cast plays in its parking lot, with audiences remaining safely in their cars listening via a radio frequency, just like at drive-in movie theatres. An app allowing patrons to listen will also be available. The parking lot will accommodate 20 cars with at least six feet between vehicles. If it’s warm, audience members will be allowed to sit in chairs within marked areas, maintaining social distancing. 

Cast and crew members chat during a Des Moines Playhouse Zoom meeting. Top row from left are Paige Berry, stage manager; Katy Merriman, director of Love Letters and The Roommate; Micheal Davenport, Love Letters actor. Middle row from left are Laura Sparks, The Roommate actress; Bobby Nalean, Love Letters actor; Jessica Van Essen, costume designer. Bottom row from left are David Kilpatrick, Rounding Third director; Jodi Jinks, The Roommate actress.

Artistic Director Katy Merriman took care in choosing the plays, looking for productions that lent themselves to social distancing in staging while not being too heavy during these trying times. “I wasn’t in the market for a major tragedy,” she said. “I tried to find stories that might give our audiences a break from the daily stress we are all feeling more than usual.”

The Playhouse is offering pay-what-you-can ticket prices for these shows, with reservations still required, in an effort to serve the whole community. “We know that there are many who love the Playhouse, but for reasons beyond their control, may not be able to afford to go to the theatre at this time,” Kilpatrick said. “We want to do theatre and our supporters want to see theatre. So, let’s celebrate our community without concern for who can afford it.”

The Playhouse appears to be an innovator in safe theatre alternatives during this time. Kilpatrick said he knows of a theatre in Lawrence, Kansas, that is offering drive-in movies, but no other theatre has declared live drive-in theatre, and he has been contacted by other theatres who are very interested in this concept. “We are being watched, that’s for sure,” he said.

Des Moines Playhouse Artistic Director Katy Merriman talks to cast and crew members during a Zoom meeting.

Merriman is excited about the impact live performance will have on audience members, especially right now. “There is a palpable energy between an audience and performers during a live show that I think most theatre-goers and actors would agree is preferable to something recorded,” she said. “I hope it can be a bit of a therapeutic escape for an evening. Times are strange and scary, but there is a lot of good in the world to remind ourselves of — the arts will help.”

Live Theatre Drive-in Performances

Time: All shows at 7 p.m.

Dates: June 12-13, June 19-20, June 26-27, July 10-11, July 16-18, July 23-25, July 31-Aug. 1, Aug. 6-8, Aug. 13-15

Place: Playhouse parking lot, 831 42nd St, Des Moines

June show: "Love Letters"

July show: "Rounding Third"

August show: "The Roommate"

Learn more at dmplayhouse.com.

The actors

Steve Berry: local spokesperson and singer; multiple roles at The Playhouse, most noticeably Jean Valjean in Les Misérables

Kellie Kramer: co-host of Iowa PBS' Iowa Outdoors; multiple roles at The Playhouse, most recently Donna in Mamma Mia!

Gina Gedler: frequent singer at Noce and with various local swing bands; numerous roles at The Playhouse including Velma Kelly in Chicago

Micheal Davenport: drama instructor at Roosevelt High School; numerous roles at The Playhouse, most recently Paul in Misery

Chris Ennis: on-air personality at Life 107; numerous roles at The Playhouse including Carl Hanratty in Catch Me If You Can

Dani Boal: numerous roles around town, most recently Mother in Ragtime at The Playhouse

Jodi Jinks: former Broadway actress known locally as a director; most recently directed The Diary of Anne Frank at The Playhouse

Laura Sparks: cantorial soloist at Temple B'nai Jeshurun and singer with Java Jews klezmer band; several shows at The Playhouse, most recently Annie Cannon in Silent Sky

Nathan Jorgensen: Waukee High School speech and theatre teacher; did several roles as a kid at The Playhouse but in the past 5 years has been directing, stage managing, and teaching for us

Bobby Nalean: Works at Des Moines Area Community College. He's done several shows at The Playhouse, most recently playing Peter Shaw in Silent Sky.