After ActIII owned and operated it as a $1.00 theater, it quickly became rundown and uncared for (I know, I worked there in high-school in the late 80’s). Soon, ActIII walked away, closing the State Theater, and leaving it in a state of disrepair.
Along came Harlequin, a group of both public and private investors, and they bought the theater and gave it new life in the late 90’s
They converted it into a live-theater showplace (they even added the small neighboring space that was being used as a pottery business, using this new space for ticket sales.)
The inside is quite small now, as much of the space has been closed off, but it makes a nice, cosy place to see live theater. The main theater now seats around 250-300 (only a guess), and the two side-theaters are inaccessible to patrons, probably used for “back-stage” type stuff.
I had the opportunity to see a play there over Xmas, 2001 and was quite happy to see the theater given new life, especially after spending so much time there in high-school when ActIII owned (and neglected) it.
After ActIII owned and operated it as a $1.00 theater, it quickly became rundown and uncared for (I know, I worked there in high-school in the late 80’s). Soon, ActIII walked away, closing the State Theater, and leaving it in a state of disrepair.
Along came Harlequin, a group of both public and private investors, and they bought the theater and gave it new life in the late 90’s
They converted it into a live-theater showplace (they even added the small neighboring space that was being used as a pottery business, using this new space for ticket sales.)
The inside is quite small now, as much of the space has been closed off, but it makes a nice, cosy place to see live theater. The main theater now seats around 250-300 (only a guess), and the two side-theaters are inaccessible to patrons, probably used for “back-stage” type stuff.
I had the opportunity to see a play there over Xmas, 2001 and was quite happy to see the theater given new life, especially after spending so much time there in high-school when ActIII owned (and neglected) it.