Rec Room Cancels Rest of 2019-20 Season, Citing COVID-19

Margaret Downing June 18, 2020 4:00AM

Photo by Tasha Gorel

Atseko Factor and Brandon J. Morgan in Pass Over, a Rec Room production before the March shutdown of live theater.

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Rec Room Arts, the Houston theater known for its innovative productions, has announced it has decided to cancel the final two shows in its 2019-20 season due to the continued presence of the coronavirus.

Even though Gov. Greg Abbott has allowed businesses in Texas to re-open, Rec Room Artistic Director Matt Hune says given the space they have available in their theater, this doesn't seem wise for them to do so.

"At this moment we do not feel comfortable welcoming audiences or artists into our theatre. We seat no more than 60 people in the theatre and our 500 square-foot bar feels more like hanging out in a friend’s living room than waiting in a theatre concession line. We are interested in bringing people together, not social distancing," Hune says in an email letter that went out.

The two canceled shows are Appropriate, a drama about a dysfunctional family with a racist legacy, and The Wolves, a 2017 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, about the members of a female teenage indoor soccer team.

While not performing live, Hune says they will be making improvements to their theater space, supporting local playwrights in their Rec Room Writers group more than they had previously planned, and collecting input from their audiences and the artists about what they could do to improve their theater experience at Rec Room.

As other Houston theaters hit hard by the disappearance of any revenue have done, Rec Room is asking ticket holders of the two shows to consider donating the cost of their tickets to the theater. But if requesting a refund, please email [email protected].