COVID-19 froze the performance industry in mid-stride last March and dropped Veterans Memorial Auditorium in City Hall back 20 years to the time when it was a dark, cavernous space for most of the year.
With the pandemic continuing in force, only the 2,100-seat auditorium’s foyer sees activity as a temporary early voting site. But city Community Development Director James Marsh is optimistic music, drama, comedy and applause will fill the big hall again in 2021 — only after a green light is given for methodical coronavirus precautions to be taken.
“We need to take a very slow approach and be sure,” said Marsh.
Performances won’t return until the state’s multi-step COVID-19 recovery plan permits large gatherings.
For now, Marsh and auditorium managers Henry Ryan, Joanna Mills and Anne Marie Leonard, are focused on improvements enhancing the auditorium, including applying for a grant to pay for a new $400,000 sound system.
“We hope to have it installed by the first of the year,” Marsh said.
He ducks the suggestion that he is the architect of the auditorium’s revival, but Marsh has played a big role in its transformation from a venue used for dance recitals to a regional entertainment attraction.
He was a top aide to former Lynn Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. 15 years ago when Clancy asked Marsh to find out the auditorium’s exact use. Marsh reported back to his boss and looked north to Lowell — a city with a successful, vibrant auditorium.
Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops performed in 2006 in the auditorium and the popular conductor took Marsh aside after the show.
“He said, ‘You really have something here. The acoustics are primo,'” Marsh recalled.
By 2010, performer bookings and audience interest in the auditorium started snowballing even as the city spent what would eventually represent a $3.5 million investment over 10 years in stage, seating and other improvements.
By 2018, 54 major shows were booked into the auditorium with a total of 80 performances generating $1.5 million annually that flows into a revolving account to pay performers and cover other expenses.
“The philosophy is not about a buck but about keeping costs low and having fun,” Marsh said.
The pandemic meant canceling shows including the Beach Boys and Baby Shark and rescheduling acts like Chevy Chase, Tiny Meat Gang and auditorium favorites, Get the Led Out, for 2021 shows.
Marsh said the pandemic’s impact extends far beyond the auditorium with performers, stagehands, booking agents, volunteers and concession suppliers devastated by the performance economy’s COVID-induced collapse.
“This hit has been to every aspect of the industry,” he said.
He admits enjoying the break from performances that saw him working his City Hall day job and then spending nights overseeing shows, sometimes until 2 a.m.
Performers will return to Lynn Auditorium, but only once people are comfortable with being part of a crowd again.
“We have to do everything correctly,” said Marsh.
