The Strand Theater, downtown Shreveport's historic jewel, will be closed for about 3 months.
Strand manager Danny Fogger told the Times, "We regret that we will have clients who will have to move their events, but we have no choice but to make the repairs now. There is never a good time to have an emergency."
Reporter Donecia Pea wrote, "Fogger personally contacted all affected organizations that were holding dates during the upcoming repair period and referenced Riverview Theater and the Shreveport Convention Center as other potential facilities to host their events."
Have I missed other media reports or Times follow-ups on the Strand's difficulties? My first knowledge of the closing came via a supermarket conversation with Los Angeles actor Logan Sledge. He will play Tom Wingfield in the upcoming River City Repertory Theater's production of Glass Menagerie. Sledge said, "The AC system leaked into the plaster in the celing, affected the chairs and now it's an insurance/liability issue. So they had to cancel all engagements."
The River City Rep's 7-performance run has been moved to the Scottish Rite Temple. Menagerie will open May 17.
This week Pat Gill, webmaster for the Shreveport-Bossier Convention & Tourism, sent out a an email newsletter with an update on local events. More than one event in April was listed for the Strand Theater. Gill told me she had no idea the Strand was closed for emergency repairs.
The Strand web site has no mention of the closing. April-May events are listed as they were before the emergency shut down. The phone message at the Strand box office presented a list of events in April as though nothing was changed.
Fogger told the Times in the March 27 story, which ran about 2 inches in length, "We have already engaged a company to build the necessary parts and have created the repair schedule built around the anticipated arrival date of these new parts."
2 comments:
That's not something to play with. I don't know if folks realize how much of a tourist destination we are becoming (I know it's hard to believe but because of safety concerns folks inside and out of the state are looking for Louisiana experiences that aren't in New Orleans). Please, I'm begging folks with websites...keep them updated. That's how the world rolls these days.
Don't blame it all on your webmaster or the high cost of maintaining your site... put a link to a blog on your front page. Label it LATEST NEWS or something and do those updates yourself. For free. If you can send email you can keep a blog.
Okay enough ranting. I'm going to the Scottish Temple...
It doesn't seem like The Strand is playing fair with some of its tenants. They've kept the events in April, although some of us have been told that the ceiling posed a potential safety hazard, and eliminated the May events. Seems like they are not being straightforward with the public. How can it be safe one month but not be the next?
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