Water main breaks cause heavy losses to Atlanta’s arts and entertainment scene

After two water mains broke in Atlanta on May 31, the city plunged into a water crisis that lasted nearly a week. The initial pauses, and subsequent pauses that followed, would disrupt the operations of many Atlanta businesses, including the arts and entertainment industry.

The biggest entertainment story of the crisis focused on State Farm Arena, which had to postpone two Megan Thee Stallion concerts on Friday, May 31 and Saturday, June 1. The Saturday concert, which was scheduled to start at 8 p.m., was canceled around 6 a.m. : 30h the same day.

“After discussions with the Mayor’s Office regarding ongoing water leak issues affecting Downtown Atlanta, the City of Atlanta is unable to host the Megan Thee Stallion show scheduled for tonight ” State Farm said on social media.

Following Saturday’s cancellation, Megan Thee Stallion took to social media to express her displeasure with how the city handled the situation. The concerts have been postponed to Sunday June 2 and Monday June 3. According to an article in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, State Farm added hand sanitizer stations around the venue in light of the boil water notice in effect at the time.

A representative for State Farm declined to comment or provide further details for this story.

The Plaza Theater closed its doors on May 31 and did not reopen until June 2, but with some restrictions. Owner Chris Escobar said the theater lost nearly $10,000 in revenue during the two days it was closed. While the boil advisory was in effect, the Plaza suspended fountain drink service, did not use ice and also provided hand sanitizer.

“If we had known that Saturday would be open all day, we probably would have tried to rent a portable toilet trailer, because although it can cost between $600 and $1,000 per day, that expense would have been less than the income that we generated would have lost,” Escobar said in an email.

Regarding film production in the city, a city spokesperson said that to the city’s knowledge, no productions were affected by the outages.

The Fox Theater canceled the P1Harmony concert on June 1 and refunded concertgoers. The cancellation of the South Korean boy band’s show resulted in a financial loss of several hundred thousand dollars, according to a Fox spokesperson.

The theater screening of the musical “Les Misérables”, which began on June 4 and continued until June 9, took place as planned.

Theatrical Outfit had to cancel two performances of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” on May 31 and June 1, according to a spokesperson. The cancellations cost the theater company about $7,500 in revenue.

“As of June 2, (Theatrical Outfit) has resumed performances under a boil water notice,” Ryan Oliveti, marketing director of Theatrical Outfit, said in an email. “This meant that all props used in production were cleaned and made with bottled water. Additionally, for patrons and artists, bottled water was available in place of our water fountains. »

The Shakespeare Tavern canceled its second preview of “Ken Ludwig’s Three Musketeers” on May 31 due to a water outage. According to a spokesperson, the Atlanta Shakespeare Company lost approximately $3,250 in revenue following the show’s cancellation. The company’s catering partner, Bardic Inspiration, lost about $2,000.

“We adjusted the cast and crew call from a performance to a rehearsal call,” associate producer Kati Grace Kirby said in an email. “Previews are essential in our rehearsal process, particularly for comedies, as audience reactions give us invaluable feedback on the key moments and beats of any production. So from an artistic standpoint, losing this performance opportunity was far more significant than canceling a show during the regular run would have been.

Water service at Shakespeare Tavern was restored June 1, and staff was able to spend the day preparing for food and beverage services to operate in accordance with the city’s boil water advisory.