Taproot Theatre patrons will need to take a look at the mural beside the theater building to remember what happened last fall. With seats back in their places, new carpet and fresh paint, the theater celebrates the same idea as its production: new beginnings.
Three months after the fire that severely damaged the theater, Taproot opened the 2010 season with "The Great Divorce," a theatrical adaption of C.S. Lewis' novel.
But even after smoke and water damage left Taproot with bare-bones infrastructure down to exposed wood posts and significant losses to its stage material, producing artistic director Scott Nolte set out to start the 2010 season last Friday, Jan. 29 - assuming that is, the carpet and all the other materials needed arrived on time. The carpet made it just in time for the theater to open its 34th season.
"We're tremendously excited and relieved and crazy-tired all at the same time," Nolte said of the reopening. "It really has been a 95-day marathon to go from the rubble the day of the fire to look at the theater just drenched and then being demolished, to getting rid of smoke and water damage, to see it demolished further to bare studs and then come back - it's just gorgeous."
Starting from scratch
During renovation, some changes and upgrades were made to the theater as well. The concessions and box office have switched sides at the entrance, and side seats were slightly rearranged to improve sight lines. The heating and air-conditioning system was also reworked.
But probably the biggest change patrons will notice is the lack of lush-green and deep-pink floral carpet and pink walls.
"It was really fun and classy when we opened the theater in 1996," Nolte said. "We had a chance to come at it from a different direction, with a desire for the audience to come in and be excited, have a visual excitement and be ready for a fun time."
The walls, now painted the sort of orange seen in sunsets and sunrises, is offset with forest-green trim and milk-chocolate carpet. Like choosing paint colors, the renovation brought Nolte back to some of the decisions he made 14 years ago and thought he wouldn't need to make again.
At this point, Nolte estimates the fiscal loss since the fire, from reconstruction to lost income during closed months, at about $1 million. The theater lost about 80 percent of its props, too - a stockpile of rugs, furniture and scenery that the theater will need to start from scratch again. Nolte said the theater's still working out what will be covered by insurance.
'Near-miraculous'
Though the fire put the theater out of commission for three months, the speedy turnaround was pretty amazing, Nolte said. Belfor, a property-restoration contractor, worked 11- to 13-hour days and a lot of weekends to make the Jan. 29 premiere.
"You'll be pretty surprised when you see it," Nolte said. "It's just like, how did it come back this fast? That's where it's near-miraculous that the contractors were able to do all of this for us."
Apart from a dedicated contractor, Taproot's patrons and Greenwood residents were very supportive.
"We've definitely been blessed by friendship and concern by a lot of people in this neighborhood and the city," Nolte said. "...We're looking forward to having our patrons come back and make a really good contribution to the vitality of the neighborhood."
The donors really stepped up, too, which helped the theater hold its own through the end of 2009. And before the sold-out premiere of "The Great Divorce," Taproot had sold a record-number 2,400 season subscriptions.
More to come
While patrons adjust to a new color scheme, repair work will continue out of the public domain, mainly on the lower level with the costume shops and production offices, which were put on hold to make sure the theater was ready for opening night.
"We're all a bit relieved, thrilled and, at the same time, incredibly grateful for the help and support of so many people. And it's just a lovely restored theater," Nolte said.
After bringing its own unexpected journey to an end, Taproot chose "The Great Divorce" to start the season for its own fantastical voyage - a thought-provoking bus ride through heaven and hell. The show runs until Feb. 27, and tickets range from $10 to $35. For tickets, contact the box office at 204 N. 85th St., at 781-9707.[[In-content Ad]]
