Given that we are going to see the Bald Soprano at City Center this evening, I thought this information might be of interest to us:
City Center, which was not originally meant to be a theater, is currently ongoing an extensive renovation and restoration process meant to address the imperfections of the building, as well as 88 years worth of wear and tear. $57 million of a $75 million capital campaign has been spent in the hope that people will now notice the building that they may have strolled past time and time again. A new glass marquee has been installed and shines lights on the exterior as well as one the sidewalk. Protruding signs are now visible from both Avenue of the Americas and Seventh Avenue. New glass doors allow passers-by to look into the building at six large high-definition plasma screens. And these are just the changes made to the exterior. Inside, the architects have increased the slope of seating platforms and removed six rows of less desirable seats to improve sight lines. The new seats are about two inches wider, and the formerly threadbare red upholstery of the seats has been replaced by blue-green velour. The auditorium has also received an extensive paint job. The official reopening of the center is on October 25th, and the gala that will take place on that night features Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg as a guest conductor of the New York Philharmonic—an evocation of the first opening on December 11, 1943, when Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia conducted the New York Philharmonic in the national anthem.
For more information about the reopening, you can read this article from the arts section of the New York Times.
I saw this article. It was interesting to see the building with the scaffolding still in place. When we return to the City Center for the Fall for Dance Programs, the scaffolding should be down and we’ll see the newly renovated space. Should be quite spectacular.
I love that we saw the City Center during and after the completion of the makeover. When we first went, it was kind of difficult (especially at night) to find the venue. The building seemed to have faded into the rest of the surroundings as just another building with a sign on it trying to entice you to come in. Who would have thought of the capabilities of the place to house such great works like the Fall for Dance production and The Bald Soprano. When we first went to see the The Bald Soprano, we went through the entrance that brought us down a flight of stairs and into straight to the doors of the play. There didn’t seem to be anything special about this building other than the play we were about to see. Though things changed when we returned to see the dance, it felt like a different building entirely. We got to see the new marquee, and the new glass doors. The new elegant outside was much deserved for the artistic building. When we walked in for the dance, I felt like I was somewhere special. The building had a new sense grandiose. I was able to walk in now and expect to witness something great. For once I think you can judge a book by its cover, now knowing of the artistic talents that the building possesses inside.
Take this as a reminder, when in New York City, you don’t know what building you might pass that could actually contain some of the finest art performances or pieces. So watch out, because round every corner in New York is another surprise.