JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Theatre, Times-Union Center, Daily’s Place and hundreds more theaters across the country were lighting their buildings in red Tuesday night. It’s a call to action known as Red Alert Restart.
The venues want to convince the federal government to provide them financial aid to compensate for losses caused by COVID-19 shutdowns. More than 1,100 theaters and performing arts centers signed on in support.
At 9 p.m. Tuesday, live performance theaters started lighting their exteriors in red to encourage Congress to approve the Reviving the Economy Sustainably Towards A Recovery in Twenty-twenty (RESTART) Act and the Save Our Stages Act.
RELATED: Full text of Save Our Stages Act and RESTART ACT
Other theaters that were lit up Tuesday included Knockdown Center, a live music center in Queens, New York, and the Center Stage Theater in Atlanta.
The campaign has gathered support from 600 music artists including Lady Gaga and Billy Joel.
During an interview with our news-partner, The Jacksonville Daily Record, the president of The Florida Theatre said legally the theatre could open at 50% capacity, as long as it obeys social distancing requirements, but that would reduce its capacity to a non-financially viable option. So, it’ll be closed until this pandemic is over.
Since the shutdown took effect in March, 106 shows have been canceled at The Florida Theatre.
The Florida Theatre posted a lengthy statement of their involvement in the campaign on their social media page.
Hello Florida Theatre Friends and Supporters, On Tuesday night, September 1, 2020 from 9:00 p.m. to 12:00 midnight, we...
Posted by The Florida Theatre on Friday, August 28, 2020
To help the cause, go to saveourstages.com and contact local lawmakers.
