A ground-breaking ceremony was led by Stamford Mayor Dannel P. Malloy pictured here with fellow shovel-holders (left to right) Betty Pia, Ted Yudain, Lou Ursone, Malloy and Ben Barnes.
For almost 40 years, actors performing in The Kweskin Theatre have had to live by the old postal service motto "neither rain nor sleet nor dark of night..." as they crossed the driveway at Sterling Farms to make costume changes. You see, there are no dressing rooms in the theatre and no matter the weather, these dedicated volunteers have performed for hundreds of thousands of devoted theatre-goers.
However, with the recently announced addition to The Kweskin Theatre, all that will change."With our groundbreaking on Wednesday morning, August 5, we ushered in a long-awaited and much needed renovation to Stamford's most active performing arts venue," said Curtain Call executive director, Lou Ursone. Besides adding dressing rooms, the addition will also include much larger restroom facilities, an expanded lobby, a rehearsal hall and a basement wardrobe facility. The auditorium, which was updated in 2002, will not be changed.
Curtain Call has been in residence at Sterling Farms, managing both The Kweskin Theatre and the smaller Dressing Room Theatre, since 1992. Ursone said that a renovation of this scale was a major dream of his when he started with Curtain Call in September, 2000. "Starting my 10th year here, I can't think of anything more exciting than to see this dream coming true," Ursone said. "The next time we do The Wizard of Oz, the cowardly lion won't be wearing garbage bags on his feet to keep his fur from getting soaked when crossing the street," he added, smiling.
Architects’ computer-generated rendering of the renovated Kweskin Theatre.
"The Kweskin is an amazing facility already - we keep it active year-round - but now it will be just about perfect," Ursone said. "Patrons will certainly enjoy the larger lobby space for pre-show and intermission gatherings and restroom lines should become a thing of the past," he added. The architectural design was handled by Partners For Architecture, a Stamford firm.
Not to be deterred by the renovations, Curtain Call's 2009-2010 season will kick off as scheduled with the first four shows being presented in The Dressing Room Theatre. "Our first show in the new space will be the recent Broadway musical comedy hit, The Full Monty, which was based on the successful film of the same name," Ursone said.
Lou Ursone shows Lynne Colatrella, Betty Pia and Mayor Dannel P. Malloy the model for the renovation project at The Kweskin Theatre.
Curtain Call is the non-profit community-based theatre company in residence at The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue in Stamford. Year-round productions and workshops are presented by and for area residents in The Kweskin Theatre and The Dressing Room Theatre. Voted Fairfield County’s BEST LOCAL THEATRE GROUP 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 in the Annual Readers' Poll of The Fairfield County Weekly and BEST LOCAL THEATRE by StamfordPlus magazine for 2008 and 2009. For tickets or information on upcoming shows, go to www.curtaincallinc.com or call 203-461-6358.
