During a time when people may need some escapism and laughs the most, the stage is silent. The music has stopped. The curtain has dropped.

MUSKEGON — A dozen years ago, after the demolition of the former Muskegon Mall, an eight-block area in the heart of downtown sat vacant, filled with sand, shells of vacant buildings and few people.

When West Michigan Symphony Music Director Scott Speck visited Germany, he attended a free Bavarian State Opera performance. A crowd of at least 200,000 people greeted the orchestra musicians as though they were national heroes.