Renovating from A to the Z

by Michael J. DeCicco

 A $31 million reconstruction of the 100-year-old Zeiterion Performing Arts Center that will reconfigure and improve nearly every corner of the 684 Purchase Street theater is expected to begin in September.

The downside is that the theater will need to close for the 12-to-14 months it will take to complete the work. The city owns the building; Zeiterion Theatre, Inc. is a nonprofit organization that manages and programs the facility. The Z and its two resident companies, New Bedford Festival Theatre, Inc. and the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra, are now searching for other venues for the year that the Z will be under reconstruction. The Z, in fact, has already scheduled some events in New Bedford’s Madeira Field and other venues for September and beyond.

But the work being planned should be worth the wait. Zeiterion President and CEO Rosemary Gill characterizes the plan as a complete transformation of all aspects of the building except for the stage house – the stage wings and loading docks, as well as under the stage that includes the performers' dressing rooms.

The auditorium will be restored to its original historic look, from the color scheme to the plaster and painted friezes and the tapestries decorating the walls. Conversely, the lighting and sound systems will be made more state-of-the-art. The seating area will be re-pitched to make seating more accessible under Americans with Disability Act requirements, and at least 80 new seats will be added to the current 1,200-person capacity. A brand-new hydraulically-operated orchestra pit will will not only be larger than what is there now, but will also include storage space that will fit the Z’s circa-1923 "Unit Orchestra" style Wurlitzer organ. 

Even the small details in the auditorium will see changes. The men’s room will be moved from the basement accessed only by an ungainly steep set of stairs to the lobby where the women's rooms are now. The women's room in return will move to the north side of the lobby.

The size of the lobby itself will be increased, Gill said, by bumping out the wall behind the concession stand and the doors next to it to expand the space into what is now the supporters lounge and classroom space with windows that face Purchase and Spring Streets. Nicole Merusi, Vice President of Strategic Advancement, noted that a roughly 1100-square-foot lobby will become 3500 square feet when the reconstruction is complete.

Old is new again

The basement below the lobby will be transformed into a Speakeasy Lounge, a multi-purpose gathering spot that can feature small parties, live performances and meetings, "with a nod toward the 1920s history of the building," Gill said. 

Stairs from the lobby will lead to a lounge similar to the one now on the first floor. The third floor will become educational space, Gill said, “an especially exciting part of our plan. Something we are offering for the first time: dedicated space for a movement studio and classrooms.”

On the outside facade, as if to announce to the public that these changes have been made, a marque in the style of the original design will return to the front entrance, and a small marquee will be placed over the new box office.

Why do all this now? Gill said it's all about improving what the Z offers the public. But there is a practical side. The city helped make safety and security improvements to the building several years ago, she said, but there are still multiple building code updates needed around under-utilized areas of the building that must be addressed along with the need to improve accessibility. To that end the reconstruction will also install a central elevator to all floors. 

The current seats, she pointed out, are three to four different varieties that the theater received second-hand when it opened in 1982. The intent was to replace them later with a second funding campaign – one that never happened. “Forty years later, these are the same seats,” she said. “We’ve listened to the feedback on what people want. Some seats were uncomfortable; the sound system was poor. We heard them loud and clear.”

Yet there are also deeper motivations for the plan. The goal, Gill said, is to create a place for creative and community gatherings – a place that will attract people beyond Friday or Saturday night theater. A place for lectures and meetings and visiting artists to conduct a workshop in a classroom. A rehearsal hall for those artists. Gill said the ultimate goal is making the Z “a community living room.”

Right now the funding to make the plan happen is more than halfway there. “We have secured 75% of the funding needed for the project,” Merusi said.

That includes both public sources and private sources. In addition to fundraising, some of these sources have included $5 million of city APPA money, another $2 million of state ARPA funds and $400,000 in state tax credit allocations from the Secretary of State’s office. 

The project's funding, Gill said, is a wonderful example of a public-private partnership. Historic Tax Credits, local and state money and philanthropy are combining to make this project possible. “We are grateful to all who have supported us,” she said.