CALUMET — The Board of Directors of the Calumet Theatre announced today that due to COVID-19 restrictions and infrastructure needs, shows scheduled for May, June, and early July have been cancelled.

Citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the primary reason for canceling shows, a complete failure of the heating system in February focused the spotlight on other safety and maintenance issues needing attention. Theatre Board President Shannon Richter explains, “With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the directives by the State of Michigan to close public venues has imposed a serious financial burden to the Calumet Theatre. We have not been able to offer a show in more than one year. The staff has had to schedule a performance only to cancel that performance and reschedule it in hopes of availability of seating space due to the pandemic. In some cases, the shows have had to be rescheduled multiple times. Our staff have had to spend their time on this and were not able to focus

on the obvious infrastructure needs we have. We had to make the hard business decision to focus on keeping the theatre safe and financially sound so shows can return to the theatre stage.

Taking advantage of the temporary suspension of shows, the theatre board worked with the Village of Calumet and a local contractor who designed and is installing a completely new system beneath the auditorium seating. “The old unit’s failure could have destroyed the whole building,” the contractor said. The village is replacing the existing unit with two high-efficiency units that can be fitted for adding air conditioning later.

The Board expects rescheduled events and Movie Magic will begin returning to the theatre in mid-July. “The Board of Directors wants the public to know that while the season has been shortened, private events planned for the Red Jacket Ballroom will continue as scheduled,” Richter said.

The theatre, box office, and online ticket sales will be closed during this time. The board asks theatre-goers to monitor the Calumet Theatre website and Facebook page for updates and announcements.