When the pandemic hit, so many of the communal activities Kingstonians had enjoyed for years had to be halted. Now that COVID-19 seems to be receding, those activities are being rebooted, but sometimes with some changes.

At their Augusta Street theater in the Rondout Heights neighborhood of Kingston, the Coach House Players community theater troupe has for decades put on several shows a year. Last weekend, actors pounded the boards once again in a sign that things are getting back to normal.

"We originally planned to stage it in March 2020, but they closed us down two weeks before we were set to open," said Barbara Melzer, director of Night Watch. She said the mood on the set has been joyful with everyone involved at the community theater very eager to return to the stage again. But the cast looks quite a bit different from the original, after two of the leads had to pull out. The other vacancies were smaller parts.

"Some of the people are not in the show, somebody moved, someone got a new job," Melzer said. "One person cannot be vaccinated, so she had to drop out." State law requires all cast members, crew and theatergoers alike to be vaccinated to enter the theater.

“The new people started rehearsing in September," Melzer said. By the end of September, they had a full cast. “We were fortunate to find people who could fill them," she said.

The new cast members consist of mainly Coach House veterans who had auditioned for the production, but there's also one first-timer. "She's really good," Melzer said.

With the open parts filled, Melzer turned to those who stayed on. "I got in touch with everybody who could come back and told them to start going over your lines again, folks," she said.

The production is Coach House's first full play after the theater staged its annual variety show in August as a bit of a test run.

Written by Lucille Fletcher, Night Watch is a thriller set in a townhouse in the East 30s in Manhattan, a neighborhood known as Kips Bay. According to Internet Broadway Database, the original production opened in late February 1972 and closed by early June that year.

"Len Cariou played the male-lead," Melzer said. "He later played Sweeney Todd and now he's on ‘Blue Bloods.’”

Melzer said Elaine lives in her townhouse with her husband Elaine and their best friend Blanche. One day Elaine looks out her window and she sees a dead man in the empty tenement building across her backyard. "From there on, it gets crazy," Melzer said.

The director cautioned "Night Watch" does contain some salty language and is probably best reserved for older teens and adults.

Melzer said so far they've had people buy tickets for each of the performances on Nov, 12, 13, 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. on Nov. 14 and 21. While reservations are available, walk-ins are also welcome, she added.

"People are coming and are not afraid because everyone had to be vaccinated," she said. "The place is sanitized and it's really clean."

While Coach House did not offer any content online during the shutdown, loyal theatergoers and sponsors continued to donate to support the theater.

She said they were helped by the fact that their season typically only runs from January to November so they only paid for the rights to stage three shows in 2020.

"We weren't hurting financially like bigger places that depend on ticket sales," she said, while noting that yes, Coach House needs people to buy tickets to keep going, but has other means of support.

Coach House is already looking ahead to January and its upcoming production of On Golden Pond.

Meanwhile, Night Watch is still running this weekend. Shows are Friday and Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $20, general admission; $18, seniors 62 and over and $10, youth 18 and under.

COVID-19 vaccination is mandatory for all audience members; proof of vaccination will be checked at the door. Masks are also required for all in attendance. Everyone in the cast and crew is fully vaccinated, said Melzer.

For more information call (845) 331-2476 or visit https://www.coachhouseplayers.org/