The lobby still smells faintly of fresh paint, and a few of the seats squeak when you sit down. None of it seemed to matter on opening night, when a sold-out house filled a room that had been shuttered for the better part of a decade.
The restoration was modest by design. Rather than gut the building, the volunteers who led the effort repaired what could be repaired and left the rest to show its age. The result feels less like a renovation than a reprieve.
What comes next
The reopening programme leans local: a mix of touring acts, a community chorus, and a monthly film series aimed at bringing people out on weeknights, when the surrounding streets have gone quiet.
- A weekend repertory season runs through the spring.
- Afternoon matinees are priced for families and students.
- Rehearsal space will be offered to amateur companies at cost.
Whether the momentum holds past the novelty of a grand reopening is the real test. But for one evening at least, a building that had become a symbol of what the town had lost became, briefly, a symbol of what it could still choose to keep.
Related: Culture & Arts · the library expands hours
Further reading: Theater buildings
