Coming out of great unknown this time last year, when COVID-19 held a deadly grip on the nation, McMurry University found a way to bring back live theater. Kerry Goff, the theater department head, had to revise his three-show summer schedule due largely to getting the rights to shows, but he came up with a Plan B. He would take two shows, "Steel Magnolias" and "The Fantasticks," outdoors. Yes, into the summer heat. The shows were performed on an elevated stage at the university's Quad. Actors were spread across the stage and did not physically interact. Audiences were limited in number and seated apart, usually under the nearest tree. That alone encouraged social distancing.