Philly theater in the pandemic — half empty or half full?

Leading Theatre Philadelphia, the organization charged with uniting, celebrating, and promoting the region’s theater community, LaNeshe Miller-White works hard to be one of those glass-half-full people. Luckily, she’s got the temperament for it, even if some of the venues Theatre Philadelphia represents are half empty as patrons are reluctant to return in person.

“I’m hoping things will wash over,” she said, referring to the current complications of COVID-19. “I’m hoping that the things that are currently planned stay planned.”

Arden Theatre Co., for example, she said, will kick off its season on Jan. 13 with “A Streetcar Named Desire” — the Tennessee Williams play that was staged for just one performance at the Arden in March 2020, before the pandemic dropped the curtain on theaters everywhere.

The Wilma Theater, Walnut Street Theatre, and the Kimmel Center all have theater seasons planned, as do smaller companies in the city and the region. The theater company Miller-White cofounded, Theatre in the X, is already making plans for “Dreamgirls,” to be staged in August. They’ve tapped the Rev. Alyn E. Waller, senior pastor at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, to play the role of Marty, a manager.

“I think we’re seeing people continuing to commit to presenting diverse voices,” Miller-White said, citing as an example, Lantern Theater Co., which hired Amina Robinson, a Black director, to bring “Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine” later this year. In May, Miller-White said, Azuka Theatre Co. will present Black playwright James Ijames’ play “Reverie,” directed by Jerrell Henderson, a Black director and puppeteer.

That’s plenty to fill a glass more than half full.

But, on the half-empty side …

“Omicron is its own thing,” Miller-White said. “We’re at a little bit of an unknown with omicron. Give me two weeks after New Year’s Eve to see what’s happening, and maybe things will be lifting up.”

Or maybe not. COVID-19 cases are soaring. Miller-White was disheartened when Broadway temporarily shut down many of its theaters last month amid the surge. “That’s concerning because they tend to lead the way.”

In the meantime, theaters in the Philadelphia area are taking small steps. Some, she said, are in discussion about pushing winter shows back a few weeks. Early rehearsals, in some cases, are moving back to Zoom, to limit time the cast is in the theater. And, she said, she’s heard of actors who are now limiting their movements to rehearsals and their home to reduce their exposure. “No one wants to be that person that closes the production,” Miller-White said.

“Hopefully we stay in the trajectory,” she said. “Testing availability — being able to get tests [for cast and crew] is everyone’s current big hurdle. They are expensive, and finding them is getting harder and harder.”

If the audiences are cautious, so are the theater companies. Miller-White has noticed that companies are casting their shows closer to their run dates, just in case.

While this year’s season includes shows that had been planned for last year but weren’t staged due to the pandemic, the 2022-2023 season will be focused on luring audiences to the theater, Miller-White predicted. “They’ll be bringing back tried-and true staples that they know have had popularity.”

Meanwhile, though, despite all the challenges, theaters have been open for business. “We’re back,” she said, lifting (figuratively) a glass half full to a better 2022. “There’s that sense of triumph in getting over that hump.”