Live entertainment has been slowly reemerging for some time now, and the Lyric – Baltimore’s premiere live entertainment venue – is leading the charge in the city. Over 10,000 guests attended four back-to-back, sold-out shows of comedian Sebastian Maniscalco’s Nobody Does This Tour at the Mount Vernon venue November 20th and 21st.
These sold-out shows speak to the public’s enthusiasm for live entertainment’s return post-pandemic. “All four recent shows at the Lyric were rescheduled from 2019 when performances were cancelled due to COVID,” according to the Lyric’s Executive Director, Jonathan Schwartz. “Patrons opted to keep their tickets versus seeking refunds, and now are really returning in droves to get back to normal.”
The new normal at the Lyric also means patrons are greeted with a few welcome upgrades to the concert hall, which was built in 1894. While operations were impacted by the pandemic, the Lyric team was able to make renovations to the Grand Foyer and concession area, with entirely new carpeting, restrooms, and sanitizing stations throughout the hall. Updates also included fresh paint and a facelift for the Mary Louise Gutman Historic Lobby – the original lobby from the late 1800s, where horse-drawn carriages once brought patrons up Mount Royal Street to the theatre and opera house.
“Our hope is that with continued success in the future, we are able to make some other upgrades, while maintaining the beauty of our one-of-a-kind venue,” says Schwartz. “For now, we are ecstatic to have some normalcy return to Baltimore and the arts community.”
More information about the Lyric’s history and upcoming shows and events can be found at LyricBaltimore.com.
