The first phase of renovation of the Salem Community Theatre is near completion.
Theatre Chair Drew Johnson says community help, including Salem Community High School students both in and outside of the drama club, has been a driving force.
“We have had volunteers coming in the last several weekends and we’ve had our contractor finish drilling and bolting in our seat bottoms,” Johnson said. “The volunteers have come in right behind them and added the backs in. We have almost the entire center section done and the backs for both sides. We’re making a lot of progress, and we’re getting pretty excited.”
Johnson says with the completion of the seat installation, the final phase of the project this week will be having a contractor level up the floor before new carpeting is laid in the aisle. The theatre has already been painted.
Johnson says once construction is complete, it will take some time to clean up before reopening. He definitely wants the theatre reopened for Halloween activities, but possibly earlier in October so several movies can be shown to show off the new facility.
The Salem High School drama club is currently working on two one act plays for November. They are a drama, ‘The Other Room’ and a comedy, ‘Check Please.’ Johnson says about 40 students will be involved in the plays.
Part of the work this weekend was to get various pieces of left over seats to be packaged together so they can be prepared for sale.
While the theatre only needed just over 300 seats, they had to buy all 1,100 seats that came from an Oklahoma high school that was replacing them with proceeds from a bond issue after being in place just ten years.
A $150,000 fund raising effort is underway to pay for the renovation. More details are available on the theatre’s website, https://www.salemiltheater.org/.
Workers with boxes of seats to be installed in the Salem Theater. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
Newly painted Salem Theater lobby. Photo by Bruce Kropp.
