September 22, 2014: The Keegan Theatre broke ground on long-anticipated renovations to its Church Street venue on August 18, 2014. The $4.0 million project, designed by Stoiber and Associates, is led by local contractor ThinkMakeBuild. Thanks to a major gift from an anonymous donor, Keegan purchased the historic theatre in June 2013 and launched its “In Good Company” campaign to raise additional funds for the renovations.
“We are thrilled to be starting renovations after passing a significant milestone with zoning and building permit approvals,” says Mark A. Rhea, Keegan’s producing artistic director. “This is a huge undertaking and we couldn’t have done it without the overwhelming support of our donors, patrons, neighbors, and company members. Keegan is excited about modernizing and upgrading our facility to better serve our audiences and the artists who create our shows.”
This week, Rhea returned to the United States after an acclaimed five-week tour of Ireland with Keegan’s hit production of A Few Good Men. “To come back to Church Street and see our building gutted – it really is just a shell at this point – was a heart-stopping thing for me,” Rhea continues. “Finally, this is actually happening. It’s almost hard to believe, after all the work to get to this point.” Jeff Stoiber, owner of Stoiber & Associates, agrees: “We have taken this wonderful building down to its amazing bones and look forward to building it back as a state-of-the-art home for The Keegan Theatre.” ThinkMakeBuild founder Darren Kornas is elated to be working with Keegan: “As both a patron of Keegan Theatre and its builder, this will undoubtedly be one of our most rewarding projects to date.”
Thanks to the generous support of a major donor, and supplemented by the company’s capital campaign efforts, Keegan has reached nearly three-quarters of its targeted $4 million goal. Renovations are expected to be complete in 7-8 months, with a late spring/early summer 2015 opening. Keegan will announce its reopening season – the company’s 18th – in early 2015.
