Playhouse to reopen this weekend|[11/28/06]
Published 12:00 am Monday, November 27, 2006
Since a fire in the electrical room of Parkside Playhouse spread through a majority of the Vicksburg Theatre Guild’s 29-year home, emotions have risen like smoke.
Now, the seats are being bolted back in place and fresh air is replacing the acrid aroma, but the rollercoaster ride is far from over.
When the new curtains glide across the refinished stage Friday to unveil the set of “Best of Friends,” the first production in the theater since the June 26 fire, director Beth Martin knows it will be an emotional experience.
“When I come in on opening night, then it will hit me,” she said.
Originally set for an early-November run, the play is one Martin picked because of its comedic banter.
The play depicts the life and family of a well-known author and his many affairs.
Though not chosen specifically as the play to open the renovated theater, the title seems appropriate for the scene that developed after the fire.
“I feel like our theater family has grown,” said VTG president Terry Welch. “It’s been like seeing old friends again.”
Martin, who also has a role in the production, said it wouldn’t really matter which play hit the stage first. This is her third play to direct with VTG.
“As long as the first production is done by us, almost anything would be appropriate for the first show,” she said.
Working around the fire-damaged building has been stressful for Martin and her eight fellow cast members. Auditions were held in August and rehearsals began almost immediately after, first in the auditorium of the Southern Cultural Heritage Complex, and, just two weeks ago, at Parkside.
“The cast has rehearsed with very little light and no heat and, of course, with that nagging question – ‘Is it really going to be open and ready?’” she said. “Anybody involved in putting this back together has (learned that) anything can be accomplished if you put your mind to it.”
Though pleased with the work, building and grounds director Garrett Wallace said he is surprised that it has taken this long to have it ready for a production.
“It’s been a lot longer than I’d hoped,” he said. “There was just so much work to be done, and so much of it couldn’t be done at the same time.”
Since mid-July, workers with ServPro of Vicksburg have been cleaning and sealing “every square inch of the theater,” to get rid of the smoke and water damage caused by the fire, said Mike Calnan, who handles public relations for VTG. Sanders-Hollingsworth Construction was at center stage a month later and began repairing the theater’s interior. Walls and ceilings were replaced throughout the theater, fresh coats of paint covered the walls and a new lighting system and stage curtains were purchased. Member Jim Miller did all of the electrical repairs.
Insurance coverage paid to get the theater back as it was. Donations from two fundraisers, “Rising from the Ashes” and Family FunFest, both during the fall, allowed for additional work. VTG earned $14,565.90 from both events and donations.
Wallace said the total cost has equaled right at $500,000.
“There was an opportunity to do some improvements while we were already working on the theater that we wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise,” Wallace said. “We never had an empty theater before.”
A Mississippi Arts Commission Building Fund for the Arts grant for $31,175 was also used to replace the auditorium carpet and to repair and repaint the exterior of the building.
Other added features are new furnaces, a water heater, new lighting in the “Green Room,” light switches in the concession area and updated bathrooms in the dressing areas.
While work was going on at VTG’s homebase, productions, including the 71st season of “Gold in the Hills,” the record-breaking melodrama performed in Vicksburg since 1936, were performed at Vicksburg High School.
But, now, the volunteer theater company is back at home – on the stage its members have graced since 1977.
“It has truly renewed my faith in people and their ability to overcome any obstacle,” Martin said.
IF YOU GO.
Parkside Playhouse this week will open for its first production since the theater was damaged by fire on June 26. “Best of Friends” will run Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Dec. 8-10 at Parkside Playhouse, 101 Iowa Ave. Show times will be at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets will be $5 for children, $7 for students, $10 for senior citizens and $12 for adults. Friday’s performance will offer free food for audience members. For information, visit the Web site at www.e-vtg.com or call 601-636-0471.