Renovation on the Allen Theatre is almost done, with the plush new seats already in and ingeniously designed acoustic panels already installed. Lights are currently being set on the new catwalks that cross high above the house.
Opening night is just a month away, and the theatre is almost ready for its close up as the flagship performance venue for the Cleveland Play House and the dance and drama departments of Cleveland State University.
A three way collaboration by PlayhouseSquare, the Play House and CSU, the project was designed by architecture firm Westlake Reed Leskosky based in Cleveland. The firm was tasked to create a new, contemporary theater within the old Allen, while still preserving its historic shell and dazzling vintage finishes.
The former movie palace was built in 1921 and seated audiences of about 3,000. The new design dramatically reduces its size, and the back of the huge movie house has now been transformed into a spacious new lobby, leading to a smaller but far more comfortable 506-seat theater.
Michael Bloom, artistic director of the Play House, said, “To have a theater that is this intimate is just amazing.”
