Published: July 22, 2008 11:23 am         

No roof

Lack of a cover not helping park amphitheater

There's an old expression we sometimes here when folks want to say that things could always be worse: "At least, we've got a roof over our heads."

Not everyone can say that, including officials of Rocky Gap State Park, which has a perfectly good amphitheater that hardly anyone seems to use.

Being surrounded by the natural beauty Rocky Gap provides,the amphitheater should have people lined up waiting to use it. But that's not the case.

Promoters and event planners have expressed interest in the amphitheater, and it has been considered for several activities - including a dog show - but except for several weddings, not much has come to pass.

One event that has been scheduled is today's Shakespeare at the Gap, a free program that starts at 7:30 p.m. with a presentation of "Merry Wives of Windsor."

However, the forecast calls for a 40 percent chance of rain and showers for this evening and, to borrow a frequently misquoted line from another Shakespeare play ("Hamlet"), therein lies the rub: Rocky Gap's amphitheater lacks cover. There is no roof over either the stage or the audience, and rain would likely dampen everyone's enthusiasm.

Park officials cite the absence of roofing and insufficient promotion for the amphitheater as prime reasons for its lack of use. That's too bad, because it's a nice facility.

Installing a roof would be expensive, so that might understandably be a project for somewhere down the road. Doing a better job of letting the public know about the amphitheater and the activities it does host would be a lot easier to accomplish, and someone needs to take the lead in that regard.