West Side Story - Sunday

South Bend Civic Theatre, Symphony Orchestra postpone "West Side Story" amid COVID-19 outbreak In response to the most recent recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, the South Bend Civic Theatre and the South Bend Symphony Orchestra have collectively made the difficult decision to postpone the upcoming production of West Side Story. The full theatrical production was originally set to be performed on April 18 and 19 at the Morris Performing Arts Center. In its most recent guidance, the CDC advised the cancellation of large events and mass gatherings of 50 or more people for the next eight weeks. With a seating capacity of more than 2,500 at the Morris, the co-production of West Side Story would fall within that criteria. “We’re devastated to take this necessary step, but both our organizations are committed to controlling the spread of COVID-19. Postponing West Side Story will have a dramatic financial impact on both of our organizations, so we thank our community in advance for continuing to support the arts during this unprecedented crisis,” Civic Theatre Executive Director Aaron Nichols said. “Our team has been working hard on this for more than a year and we are committed to bringing West Side Story to the stage in South Bend next year.” Justus Zimmerman, executive director of the Sympony, also stressed the importance of community during this time. “Our first commitment has always been to the community of South Bend,” Zimmerman said. “This is an immensely important project that will happen in the future, but we cannot risk the health and well-being of our patrons and our community. In the arts, we know that our institutions will be critical in providing comfort and a way to understand whatever transpires. We will get through this together.” More details will be released in coming days for patrons who have already purchased tickets to the production at the Morris. Patrons and supporters are encouraged to continue to check for updates on tickets and rescheduled events on social media and at sbct.org or southbendsymphony.org.