New Jersey boasts a rich landscape of live theater venues – from prominent regional houses to small community theaters. All were shut down during the worst of the pandemic, with sometimes devastating effects. But the community is coming back to life as more residents get vaccinated and COVID-19 outbreaks seem to be waning. Are audiences willing to return to the seats?

The Community Stage Relief Grant Program, which provides grants of up to $300,000 for businesses that have some kind of involvement in the promotion and production of live events and were affected by COVID closures, will award funds to smaller venues that suffered losses during the pandemic.

The entertainment, management and booking team of the Newark arena will oversee live performance, private event booking and day-to-day facility operations for the 8,000-square-foot Jersey City venue.

“Vaccines are going to be your ticket back to shows, and as of Oct. 4 we will be following the model we developed for Lollapalooza and requiring this for artists, fans and employees at Live Nation venues and festivals everywhere possible in the U.S.,” President and CEO Michael Rapino said in a weekend interview with NBC.

Events up and down the Garden State are beginning to require the inoculation for admission, as lagging rates fuel a surge in the highly contagious delta variant.

New applications seeking economic aid for live entertainment small businesses, nonprofits, and venues will be accepted until until 2:59 a.m. EST on Aug. 21. Thus far, the SVOG program has awarded $8.4 billion in grants to more than 10,800 cultural institutions.

Eligibility is limited to those with a maximum of 2,500 seats that hold at least two live performances a week, get at least half of their revenue from performances, and suffered a 25% loss between the second quarters - April to June - of 2019 and 2020.

The Biden administration set up the Shuttered Venue Operator Grant program to assist such establishments that had to close their doors during the pandemic, and then endure months of capacity restrictions after reopening.

$3.2 billion was awarded to more than 4,000 venues nationwide by the U.S. Small Business Administration under its Shuttered Venue Operator Grant program, set up to assist theaters, museums, concert halls, performing arts centers and the like that had to close their doors during the pandemic. In New Jersey, 91 entities benefited from the program.

The plans, produced by Trenton-based architectural firm Clarke Caton Hintz, include a new marquee and other upgrades intended to improve the institution's Broad Street location.

The Newark-based arts center hopes the move will help start its rebound. The venue plans to enforce mask requirements, as well as offer touchless services for check-in and ramped up sanitization efforts.