The Manatee Players has produced as many as nine mainstage musicals and a half dozen smaller shows in its intimate Kiwanis Studio Theatre. But because the theater company’s staff was reduced during the pandemic almost by half, Kerby said its offerings will be more limited as it rebuilds in the coming year.
“Our resources are down. We don’t have a full staff and we’re not sure when we can bring back a full staff,” he said. “We’re looking at resources, the kind of staff we have and knowing our budgets are going to be down, but we want to keep the experience as high as possible for our patrons. That means we’re just going to have to get more creative than usual.”