BEAVER, W.Va. (AP) - Bad weather has been hurting business at a Beckley-area outdoor theater this summer, so it's having to get creative with the rest of its season, officials said.
Theatre West Virginia has lost more than 10 percent of show revenue because of storms, General Manager Scott Hill told the Register-Herald. Ten percent of the summer season had already been canceled by Wednesday, and with a weekend forecast of rain, as much as 20 percent of revenue is at risk, Hill said.
On Thursday, for the first time in the theater's history, Hill said he decided to move a performance from the Cliffside Amphitheatre in Beaver. That evening's performance of "Ring of Fire: The Music of Johnny Cash" was held inside a Beckley community center.
Despite its name, "Ring of Fire" does not include any pyrotechnics and therefore, unlike many other shows the theater has put on, it could be performed indoors.
"Ring of Fire" is set to return to the amphitheater Friday and Saturday because an alternative space is not available.
"This is a yearly concern no matter how well we prepare," Hill said. "We can't stop it from raining, and we will not put people's safety in jeopardy from lightning."
Theater officials plan to bring up the feasibility of putting a roof over the amphitheater while at a meeting with the National Park Service and theater supporters, Hill said.