Fischer Theatre executive director Ashton Greer recently joined Tommy B on D102’s The Big Show talking about the TAKE YOUR SEAT campaign. Greer explained that during the 2019 Fischer Theatre restoration, the seat part, at that time, got left behind.
AUDIO: When that happened, we didn’t have the funds to put new seats in. So we actually got old seats from another theater, and kind of just retrofit everything to make it work. But the seats are old, they’re small, the rows are really close together, there’s not a lot of leg room in a lot of places. And we’ve moved through some big projects. We’ve upgraded the cafe, we’ve completely renovated the gift shop. We decided, what are we going to tackle next? And the seats just seemed like the most important thing.
Then, Greer explains, came the next step.
AUDIO: So, when we chose the designer of our seats, we actually shipped an original 1884 Fischer Theatre seat over to London, to this company. And, they do this amazing thing where they actually scan, and create an exact replica; of the arms, and the wood grain, and the original design of seat.
But unlike the original 1884s that were hard wood; the new seats, after much contemplation of the color, will have navy blue cushions. With the TAKE YOUR SEAT campaign, you can sponsor one of the new 646 seats for $600. You get an engraved nameplate on it, which could have your name or anyone you’d like to dedicate the seat to. One-hundred-ten have been sponsored thus far. Just go to fischertheatre.com/donate or you can also mail your seat sponsorship to P.O. Box 926 Danville, 61834. And be sure to mention what you would like engraved on the name plate.
To hear all of Tommy B’s talk with Ashton Greer, please go to https://vermilioncountyfirst.com/big-show-bites-podcast/
