Photo by Natasha Moustache

Bringing Back the Arts

“The Lion has COVID.” I was on a Zoom call with the artistic director of Wheelock Family Theatre (WFT). After two years, Wheelock was finally reopening its doors with a family-friendly favorite: The Wizard of Oz. The first preview was two days away. And the Lion had COVID. 

A professional theater and a unit of CFA, WFT is a force in Boston. It was the first theater to embrace inclusive practices. Audiences of all complexions have been able to see themselves and their experiences represented onstage for more than 40 years. Every production includes supertitles. Most offer ASL interpretation. 

Yes, the Lion had COVID. Fortunately, our understudy and swing Lions were fine. We had contingency plans. The show did go on. 

The Wizard of Oz was one of many challenges and successes from this past spring. There were no COVID closures during the two-month run. We welcomed 7,000 people through our doors. Many were children seeing professional theater for the very first time. They sang along and applauded as our many Lions found their courage—which, of course, they always possessed.

Beyond Wizard, we premiered a new annual recital series at Carnegie Hall. We greeted our largest ever audience—a sold-out house—at our orchestra concert at Symphony Hall in Boston. Our graduating theater students were feted in Manhattan. Our galleries featured capstone creations by graphic designers, painters, and sculptors.

There have been disruptions. Long hours were invested in working through the challenges of our pandemic moment. Our CFA community—faculty, staff, students, alumni—brought back the arts. Thanks to them, the events and activities of CFA are bigger, bolder, and more plentiful than they were before the pandemic.

Producing is a futuristic endeavor. Currently, we are mapping out our events calendar for 2023. We will be back at Carnegie. We will return to Symphony Hall. We will host hundreds of events on campus in the Booth Theatre, Stone Gallery, and more. 

One of my ambitions is to kick-start a series of regional CFA events, engaging alumni in cities throughout the world. I could use your help. If you have a network of alumni friends who might be interested in bolstering Terrier pride in your home region, please email me at cfadean@bu.edu. I would love to help you brainstorm ways to bring our community together. If my schedule allows, I might even stop by. 

Harvey Young, Dean of CFA