801 Claremont Avenue Norfolk, VA 23507 (757) 627-8551 www.ltnonline.org
CONTACT: BRENDAN HOYLE CELL PHONE: 757-581-5845 E-MAIL: HOYLEB@CHSVB.ORG
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JUNE 3, 2010
THE LITTLE THEATRE OF NORFOLK BREAKS GROUND ON LONG AWAITED FIX-THE-FLOOR PROJECT After over 15 years of fund-raising, the Little Theatre of Norfolk, with generous help from The Norfolk Foundation, finally fixes the floor and the seats.
When the Little Theatre of Norfolk, a community theatre located in West Ghent, opens its doors for the 84th season this September, patrons will discover a brand new theatre. For the past fifty years the floor of the auditorium has been slowly and surely sinking into the ground due to the improperly laid concrete. The concave floor forces theatregoers to be carefull so as not to lose their balance. As recent president of the board of directors, Jeff Corriveau puts it “If you didn’t notice that our floor slopes then you’re probably drunk.” The slope has effected the seating as well. Some of the seats force patrons to practically sit in the laps of their neighbors. For over fifteen years LTN has run a capital campaign, appropriately called the Fix-the-Floor Fund. While donations have been generous every year, progress sped up two years ago when The Norfolk Foundation awarded the theatre a 75,000 dollar challenge grant. LTN had two and a half years to raise 75,000 dollars to earn the matching 75,000 from The Norfolk Foundation. Mr. Corriveau and the board of directors hit the ground running and succeeded in raising $110,000 in just twenty months, $35,000 more than required for the grant! With the combined figure of $185,000 added to the previously raised $47,000 LTN was ready to proceed. On June 1st, two days after the final show of the 83rd season closed Encore Seating removed all of the seats in the auditorium and shipped them to the mid west to be completely refurbished and widened. Between June 1st and June 13th more than fifty volunteers will work tirelessly to prepare the space for the complete overhaul and finally, on Monday June 14th, 2010, construction will begin. The existing floor will be completely demolished and removed, new pylons will be pounded 50 feet down into the earth, new concrete will be poured to form the proper graduated slope and an entirely new section for handicapped patrons will be added near the entrance doors. The entire lobby floor outside of the box office will be replaced as part of the project. The first show of the 84th season, Forbidden Broadway, opens on Friday September 10th with a gala event celebrating the theatre and its generous patrons. With the opening of the season the Little Theatre of Norfolk will be honoring David L. Burton, who dedicated over 20 years of his life to LTN, striving tirelessly to shape it into the theatre it is today before passing away in January of 2009. On opening night LTN will officially name the renovated performance space the David L. Burton Playhouse in memory of this great man. The Little Theatre of Norfolk’s 84th season: Forbidden Broadway, by Gerard Alessandrini; A Few Good Men, by Aaron Sorkin; The Importance of Being Earnest, by Oscar Wilde; Dancing at Lughnasa, by Brian Friel; Into the Woods, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, book by James Lapine. The Norfolk Foundation recently changed its name to The Hampton Roads Community Foundation. For more information on the Little Theatre of Norfolk, the Fix-the-Floor project, or LTN’s 84th season go to the theatre’s website at www.ltnonline.org or contact Brendan Hoyle at (757) 581-5845 or hoyleb@chsvb.org.