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Theater's focus now on Cd'A

Bethany Blitz Staff Writer | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 3 months AGO
by Bethany Blitz Staff Writer
| December 23, 2016 8:00 PM

The curtain is coming down, and it won’t be going up again at Modern Theater-Spokane.

But the show will go on in Coeur d’Alene.

Modern Theater announced Monday it will be closing its Spokane location at the end of this year due to declining profits and high overhead.

“The Modern Theater has decided to consolidate resources and focus on producing outstanding theater in our The Modern Theater — CDA location,” the theater announced on its Facebook page. “We hope you will visit us at The Modern Theater — CDA as we continue to bring exceptional regional talent to our stage in shows selected to appeal to our patrons.”

The play “All is Calm” will be the Spokane theater’s final production.

Lynda Hall, president of Modern Theater’s board of directors, said she is sad to close the Spokane location, but it’s going to be very positive for the Coeur d’Alene theater, 1320 E. Garden Ave.

The theater in Coeur d’Alene gathered input from production-goers and is going to change accordingly, she said, adding that in the new year, the theater will be making some exciting announcements.

“We’ve loved being in Coeur d’Alene for as long as we have been, we have wonderful patrons from all over the area who have enjoyed theater with us,” Hall said. “We’ve revamped the end of our season and I think we have something our Coeur d’Alene supporters would be thrilled to see.”

In 2014, Coeur d’Alene’s longtime, local, nonprofit theater, Lake City Playhouse, in existence since 1961, announced it was merging with Interplayers Professional Theatre, a failing Spokane theater group facing closure and bankruptcy. Lake City Playhouse acquired Interplayers’ assets and liabilities and was the surviving entity of the merger. The result was a new theater with two locations: Modern Theater-Spokane and Modern Theater-Coeur d’Alene.

George Green, the former, longtime director of Lake City Playhouse and then Modern Theater, is now running a theater in San Antonio. He commented on the Spokane theater’s Facebook page Monday, saying he, too, was sad to see it close.

“We kept Theatre live that was going to close 2-and-a-half years ago. So regardless success does exist in this effort,” Green wrote. I’m really proud of all the work we did and the art we created there. The bonds and the friendships that developed. I certainly hope Theatre continues to find its way into that building. I will forever miss it, and forever cherish the moments and the accomplishments. Much love to everyone there.”

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