Lewiston cultural institution reaches halfway mark in its $2.4M in upgrades.
LEWISTON – Even before the curtain rises on The Public Theatre’s new season Friday, audiences may be impressed.
“Their experience here will change,” Artistic Director Christopher Schario said. “Anyone who’s been here before will be surprised.”
A new entrance, a larger more comfortable lobby, a new box office and a new concession area will greet attendees to the season’s first show, “Deathtrap.”
The changes mark the halfway point in a $2.4 million renovation of the company’s Maple Street home.
During breaks in plays, people will be able to comfortably have a cup of coffee, buy a ticket to a future production or use one of the new restrooms.
“We want the facility to match the quality of the productions,” Schario said, smiling as he admired the newly spacious lobby. “We’re getting there.”
Of course, the professional theater company’s Maple Street home was never designed for this.
A building in disrepair
Originally built as an auto garage, the building was split in two in the 1930s. The upstairs became the Le Montagnard Social Club. The downstairs housed the Ritz Theater, a second-run movie house.
By the 1970s, it fell into disrepair. The movie theater became an adult cinema. The social club became a pool hall. Then, they both closed.
It was vacant for eight years when The Public Theatre took over. In October 1992, after four months of renovations, the company played its first show in the former cinema.
It’s been a success ever since. In 1993, the theater signed a deal with Actors’ Equity Association, making it one of only five theaters in the state to hire members of the nationwide actors’ union.
“We’ve been in the black every year,” said Schario.
The building hasn’t measured up, though. So they began making changes.
One year ago the first construction phase began, building an addition along the length of the building’s east side. It includes an up-to-code stairwell and storage space.
Eventually, exterior also
The current phase began this past spring.
The work has been done with the proceeds of the fund-raising done so far.
Next year, the theater plans to hold fund-raisers and events aimed at raising the second half of the renovation budget, said Thomas Platz, the campaign’s chairman and the Public Theatre’s treasurer.
As the money comes in, they hope to move forward with more dramatic plans. Those include redoing the exterior of the building in phase three and pulling down the ceiling in phase four.
Despite the planned changes in the facility, there are no plans to change the productions.
In fact, the 307-seat auditorium may lose a seat or two when the work is done. The size of the audience and its proximity to the stage is already perfect, Schario said.
Anything bigger would be “a barn,” he said.
“I want an intimate house,” Schario said.
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