WAUSAU – While closed to the public, The Grand Theater is working to keep community members engaged in the arts via online entertainment.
“We are creating and sharing a great deal of content to help keep the community connected to the arts and hopefully take peoples’ minds off the news of the day for a bit,” said Executive Director Sean Wright in a news release. “We also want to make sure we’re supporting some of our favorite artists who make The Grand so special.”
The Grand recently announced a virtual happy hour concert series called “Quaran-Tunes,” which will feature local and regional artists playing live-streamed concerts from their own homes. Viewers can choose to “donate the price of their drink” to help others, either by contributing to the Community Foundation of North Central Wisconsin’s COVID-19 Community Response Fund, or directly donating to the artist.
The Grand is also hosting musical watch parties on its Facebook page so that theater-fans can still experience the arts together. Last week, viewers watched “Shrek: The Musical” on Netflix, and on April 3, The Grand will host a “Newsies: The Broadway Musical” Watch Party (via the Disney+ streaming service).
In addition to “live” performances and events, The Grand has been highlighting the work of local music and theater students by sharing videos in their Social Distance Spotlight series. The series features young musicians performing the pieces they had planned on performing for live audiences this spring. The Grand’s director of education and community engagement, Katy Lang, has also started a blog series called “Quarantined With Katy,” in which she curates collections of online arts and entertainment options.
Visit The Grand’s website at www.grandtheater.org and follow them on Facebook to stay informed as they add additional engagement opportunities in the days and weeks to come.
