A brighter look to the stage of Lexington’s historic Opera House

WEKU | by Stu Johnson

https://cpa.ds.npr.org/s362/audio/2023/08/p082923sjoperah.mp3

Lexington’s best-known theatrical venue has undergone some upstairs improvements. Some of the changes will brighten the patron experience at the venue.

The Lexington Opera House’s balcony was closed off a few weeks ago, including during the showing of “Memphis.” It was done to conduct some ceiling support work. Brian Sipe is the general manager of Central Bank Center. He said the work was needed to accommodate new lighting and not to address any serious structural issues.

“The issue was with the weight of the lights that we needed to put on. It really only affected the front row of that balcony area. So, we were probably overly cautious, but that’s okay in closing that balcony level off,” said Sipe.

Sipe said the balcony work is done. He said the need to upgrade lighting and sound was really a necessity. Sipe noted the diverse programming at the Opera House includes national touring groups and local arts shows. He added the 2023 schedule includes the most events since 1976.

“We definitely made a conscious decision to bring more national touring shows to the Opera House. While it is historic and it’s only 950 seats, there’s a lot of shows that can play in that capacity,” said Sipe.

In addition to the balcony work, Sipe said the planned renovations downstairs include the pub and bathrooms. He noted food offerings have been updated. Sipe added ticket prices for shows will not be increased to pay for these improvements.

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Photo courtesy of Lexington Opera House

Republished with permission