The new Count Basie Center for the Arts performance space, The Vogel, will host seated shows starting in mid-October.
The Count Basie Center for the Arts in Red Bank announced, today, the opening of a new, nearly 20,000-square-feet performance space, The Vogel, which will begin hosting indoor, socially distanced shows in October. No specific acts have been announced yet.
The balconied, two-level Vogel is named after philanthropists Anne and Sheldon Vogel of Colts Neck, in recognition of their support of the Basie. Sheldon Vogel was a longtime executive at the Atlantic Records label.
According to a press release, shows will begin, for audiences of 150, in mid-October.
Tickets will be sold by the table, with two-, four- and six-people configurations. Tables will be six feet apart, and at least 12 feet from the performers. Drinks and concessions will be sold tableside. Temperatures will be taken at the door, and masks must be work except when eating or drinking. Other safety measures will be implemented as well.
Once the pandemic is over, The Vogel will be able to accommodate larger audiences via either seated or standing shows. Up to 800 people will be able to attend standing shows. The New Jersey venue it seems to be most like — in terms of size, layout and capacity — is White Eagle Hall in Jersey City.
The space is part of a multi-year expansion project that was actually completed earlier this year, but hasn’t been able to be unveiled until now, because of the pandemic.
For information and updates, visit thebasie.org.
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