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The show is back on at Circa '21 after being closed for six months

'The Savannah Sipping Society' is the first show to premiere at Rock Island's dinner theater downtown Wednesday, Sept. 9.

ROCK ISLAND, Ill. — 'The Savannah Sipping Society' is the first show to premiere at downtown Rock Island's dinner theater Wednesday, Sept. 9, since the venue closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Circa '21 hasn't held a show indoors in front of a live audience since this spring when COVID-19 restrictions forced them to close down.

"Nowadays, more than anything people need an escape," says Brett Hitchcock, director of audience development. "They need somewhere to get away from everything going in the country and escape for a few hours and laugh and have a good time. and I think that's what this show is going to do."

Things will look different inside than they did before COVID, of course. Guests will have to wear masks when walking around indoors. The buffet is shutdown and dinner will be brought out already plated.

Even the actors will be wearing masks at different points during the show.

But Hitchcock says they're ready to welcome back their fans.

"The actors are ready to perform," he says. "They're used to performing in front of people and getting feedback. And being able to just do stuff where they're not getting that feedback, it's just not the same."

Circa '21 held several shows outside the theater this summer.

Tickets are already sold out for Wednesday's shows and in weeks to come. Hitchcock says that's because they can only have 50 people in the audience. But he says you can get tickets for October or November right now. 'The Savannah Sipping Society' runs through Nov. 7.

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