About

The theatre was built in 1960. It is a 498 - seat proscenium house (486 seats with the soundboard in the house) with a single slightly sloped floor of seating and two aisles, and the sightline nearly parallels the stage floor, making the floor barely visible.

The apron wraps around the orchestra pit forming “calipers” which are backed by adjustable louver panels. The house is 47 feet wide at the pit rail and 67 feet wide at the back, and it is 61 feet from the pit rail to the back wall. The ceiling is about 23 feet above the house floor. The proscenium and louvers are painted black.

Because the stage is so far from the audience (almost 30 feet from front row to Grand Drape), many users prefer the pit cover for their events.

The pit cover is 2-1/2 feet above the front aisle, (13 inches below the stage) 12 feet deep and is 28 to 40 feet wide (see diagram). An 8 ′x 8′ section elevates to the stage and drops about 2 feet into the pit on hydraulics. There is a single intermediate step down to the pit cover. Bandshell units can be rolled into place on the apron (behind the performers) for acoustic concerts. Quite a bit of lighting can be done on the pit cover, including back lighting from the “A-Bar” and the first electric, but no flying of scenery is possible downstage of the Grand Drape.

The working height of the pit cover can be altered, but it is all manual labor and quite time-consuming.

The theatre is equipped with a small upright piano. By special request, we can obtain a Steinway baby grand or full-size Steinway Concert Grand.