For the last two years, San Franciso's American Conservatory Theatre's Mainstage has been closed.
Just days before COVID-19 shut things down in San Francisco, the last show in the Geary Street theater opened and closed on the same night.
But now, the beloved local theater has reopened with its first Mainstage show since the pandemic began, a performance that will be particularly involved with the audience.
"Obviously it's very different," said artistic director Kate McKinnon. "23 months later the audience is wearing masks and some people are feeling a little more vulnerable, because they’ve just been through a lot."
The first production to christen the space in the post-pandemic world is Broadway's Freestyle Love Supreme, an improvised hip hop comedy musical that involves the audience as much as the performers.
"They're the last member of the show," said beatboxer and show performer Chris Sullivan. "Literally at the end of the show, no spoilers, but we'll take somebody and give them more of an extensive interview and then reenact their entire life."
And it's not just the theater itself that's shaking the dust off. Performing for a live audience has changed a lot since before COVID-19. People seem more excited these days.
"The appreciation that we get from houses now, it just feels a little different than pre-pandemic," said Emcee Andrew Bancroft.
Freestyle Love Supreme runs at ACT through mid-February.
