(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) — The Clemens Center, a performing arts facility that includes the 1,600-seat Powers Theatre and 200-capacity Mandeville Hall, in Elmira, New York, will be closing down in early 2007 for a year’s worth of renovations.
The 81-year-old venue plans to enlarge its stage and expand and update backstage facilities.
“We have been sort of testing the waters and exploring with some of the major funding sources, all the way from the state arts council to talking to some of the local community leaders,” Tom Weidemann, the center’s executive director, told Gannett News Service. “We don’t know to what extent we will be able to do work. We don’t know what it will cost. We know, ultimately, we have got to do this work.”
The downtown venue underwent $7 million in improvements beginning in fall 1998 to its exterior, entry, box office, lobby, interior amenities and a new marquee. –by CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
