Argyle Theatre Stands Strong Amid COVID, Preparing For Reopening

BABYLON, NY — At the Argyle Theater, there is a remnant of life before the coronavirus pandemic hit Long Island. In March 2020, the theater was preparing for its final show of the season, Cabaret. The show opened on a Thursday and by Sunday, New York went into lockdown.

Now over a year later, the theater is still closed, but the set and props for the show still remain.

"Everything is still on stage like a snapshot in time," theater owner Dylan Perlman told Patch.

Dylan and his father Mark took over the historic venue in 2018 and brought it back to its former glory. The two were preparing for the theater's second year in business when COVID-19 hit, changing all their plans.

"We were just crossing our second anniversary of being opened, so it was this crazy stop to this momentum," Dylan said. "We were building that really loyal audience base when we had to shut down. We knew once this all really came to a stop, and the whole world, that we would be the first to close and the last to reopen."

However, the duo remain optimistic that they will reopen soon with a bang.

Earlier this month, event, arts, and entertainment venues were allowed to reopen at 33 percent capacity, with up to 100 people inside and up to 200 outside. According to state guidelines, if guests provide a negative COVID-19 test before entering, the capacity at the venue can be increased to up to 150 indoors and up to 500 outdoors. Masks and social distancing are still mandated.

Mark and Dylan both take this as a good sign, but are not prepared to open the theater just yet. With the current restrictions in place, Dylan said it is not sustainable to open the 500-seat venue. He hopes to reopen around Labor Day.

"To really get back to anything resembling normal operations or normal life or normal theater-going, it would require the serious rollout of vaccinations," he said.

The theater already had a trial run of operating with COVID-19 guidelines. The duo added hand sanitizing stations and deep-cleaned the theater before shows. They plan to continue that once the Argyle reopens, along with adding more time at intermission and between shows to help with crowd control.

Dylan said the community has been anxiously waiting its return and once the theater is back in business, there is going to be an "explosion" in demand.

"We're social creatures and for so many of us that have just been cooped-up and in quarantine, even those who are still working, it's not the same as normal," Dylan said. "So we feel optimistic but we know the next several months and probably the rest of the year is going to be uncertain and challenging. But I think once we're able to get through this and we're back to life, safely, I think we're in the next roaring 20s."