Will the show go on? Swamp Gravy looking to rebound after double whammy from Hurricane Michael, COVID pandemic

COLQUITT — For nearly 29 years, Swamp Gravy has been telling the story of small-town Georgia folk life. But that mission has been put in jeopardy by a double whammy from a 2018 hurricane and the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the production that put the tiny southwest Georgia community of Colquitt on the national map, the question now is can the show go on as the Colquitt/Miller County Arts Council is attempting to raise funds to keep open the former cotton gin where the play is staged each year.

The organization sent a letter in December asking for donations, with a goal of $85,000 to keep operations going.

In the letter, the council said that repairs from Hurricane Michael in October 2018 and the effect of the pandemic have depleted reserves and that the Cotton Hall theater remained open only due to the patience of creditors.

Swamp Gravy was first performed in 1992 in the Miller County Elementary School auditorium. Meant to run for one week, the success of the first show led to an encore performance and then to an annual play with a new theme each year.

“We must find $85,000 in immediate new income between now and March 21 to get our bills current, meet payroll, and give us the opportunity to plan for the future,” the Arts Council’s letter said. “If the community support is not there, and we cannot meet this benchmark, it will be a clear indication that it is time to close our beloved theater.”

The region has responded, and more than $60,000 in donations have come, Will Murdock, the artistic director at Cotton Hall, said.

The former cotton gin was renovated and became the home of Swamp Gravy in 1994. Among those who have already contributed are two Blakely women who raised $2,000, the Drama Club at Southwest Georgia Academy that brought in $2,500 with a spirit week event at the school, and area artists whose donations brought in $2,500 at an auction.

Winds from Hurricane Michael lifted a portion of the roof at Cotton Hall and two other buildings owned by the Arts Council. The damage wasn’t discovered until later, but the impact of the storm canceled most of the October shows of a football-themed production.

“Going into the week before Hurricane Michael, we were on pace to have our best (season),” Murdock said. “Michael took out the last three weekends of that show, which was really devastating in terms of the returns we had to do on ticket sales.”

March 2020 offered a bit of déjà vu for the Arts Council with the emergence of the novel coronavirus.

“When the pandemic hit in March of last year, we were in the middle of a run of Swamp Gravy,” Murdock said. “We had to cancel the last three weeks.”

Other productions, including an annual dinner theater murder mystery, were canceled, effectively shutting off funds to the production.

“We were able to keep operating through the year,” Murdock said. “It became evident as it became closer to Christmas we’d need to do something to make it until we’re able to be self-supporting again.”

With the support from the community and approval for funds from the second round of the Payroll Protection Program, the theater is looking to move forward with new plays, although those will be done under COVID-19 restrictions.

A March 19-21 run of the “Camp Murder” mystery, based on the tropes of 1980s summer camp movies, will not include the traditional dinner, although there will be a dessert during intermission.

The new play “Swamp Gravy: A Stone’s Throw” is in production, but it will have a cast of 30 instead of the usual 80 or so. Actors will wear masks except during the time they are speaking.

For Murdock, Swamp Gravy offers a valuable look at life in Colquitt, located 50 miles south of Albany, and southwest Georgia.

“Every year we write a new play based on the town,” he said. “I think so much of what we have done is we tell so much of our local stories. If you don’t see yourself, you’ll see your neighbor or someone you know. These stories are as important as anything you see on TV.”

For Anne Spelts, Swamp Gravy has been inspirational. The Lee County teacher attended shows after her daughter, Dr. Raybun Spelts, a pharmacist, moved to Colquitt a couple of years ago.

“It’s like Mayberrry,” she said of Colquitt, referring to the long-running “Andy Griffith Show” from the 1960s. “I think it (Swamp Gravy) does express an era of a simpler time. I’m glad I’ve been able to experience it a few times, and I hope others will have that experience in the future.

“It’s good for the soul to go see some simple entertainment instead of just sitting in front of the computer or the TV.”

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