A note from The Florida Theatre President Numa C. Saisselin.
“Hi Friends,
When nobody is in the theatre, there is a light that is placed on the stage, and left turned on. It is called the Ghost Light. It’s almost always a bare bulb on a five-foot high stick with a cage around the light bulb just in case someone tips it over accidentally.
There is a lot of mythology about ghost lights. They derive their name from the idea that the light is left on to keep the theatre ghosts company. The more practical among us believe that it’s more like Motel Six. We leave a light on for the next person, so when he or she comes to work, they’re not walking into a pitch dark room and tripping over a piece of equipment.
For me, the ghost light is a reminder that people were here once before, and someone is coming back.
The whole purpose of a theatre is to bring people together to see and hear someone else express ideas or entertain them, or both. It feels exceedingly strange to take part in asking a loyal audience that we have worked really hard to build over the years to stay home.
The Florida Theatre opened its doors on April 8, 1927. Just 31 months later, Black Tuesday ushered in the Great Depression, immediately followed by World War II, and the post WWII recession. The Florida Theatre spent 15 of its first 18 years in times of crisis. Despite these challenges, the theatre prospered and survived, and other than the three-year period from 1980 to 1983, when the Arts Assembly bought and restored the building, the Florida Theatre has never closed.
But here we are, in another time of crisis, and I want you to know that we will be here and ready when the “all clear” is sounded. As Winston Churchill said, “The arts are essential to any complete national life,” and we pledge to continue doing our part to sustain and encourage them.
As of this writing, we have postponed and rescheduled 25 performances, and cancelled just four outright. More shows will probably be effected as the calendar marches on, but this will end sooner or later, and we will be here, ready to bring the First Coast together, when it does.
We will have many brand new shows to announce at that time, too. We’re looking forward to it.
In the meantime, wash your hands, socially isolate, stay informed about the facts, but don’t let the news drive you over the edge. As the British said in WWII, “Keep calm and carry on.” We riff on that a lot, but the original is still pretty good advice.
Numa”