It's the Zeiterion's 100th birthday. Here's how they plan to celebrate this month.
NEW BEDFORD — On April 2, 1923, The Zeiterion opened its doors for live vaudeville performances. Now, 100 years later, the theatre will celebrate its 100th Birthday during the month of April.
According to The Zeiterion, the festivities begin during An Evening with David Sedaris on Saturday April 1, when the centennial will be recognized. A public event will take place on Saturday, August 12, just before the planned renovation and restoration.
The milestone will be marked with several events throughout the year and an initiative to capture the public’s stories and hopes for its future.
Asking for people to share their memories
Additionally, the Zeiterion is collecting the public’s memories about the theater or wishes for its future. Those who would like to share may do so by calling the Zeiterion Story Hotline at (774) 425-3417 and leaving a voicemail.
From vaudeville to Broadway
The theater, which the Zeitz family opened on April 2, 1923, has a storied history and remains the last of downtown New Bedford’s 17 dazzling theaters.
First featuring live vaudeville performances, it soon transformed into The State as a movie house showing “talkies” and the occasional live performance. In 1982 it was saved from demolition and a non-profit was created to manage the city-owned building and program its stage, the Zeiterion Theatre, Inc., which celebrated 40 consecutive years of live performances in September 2022.
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The Zeiterion and resident companies New Bedford Festival Theatre and New Bedford Symphony Orchestra have delighted the South Coast region with world-class live entertainment for four decades.
Bernadette Peters, Yo-Yo- Ma, Joan Rivers have been on the stage
Artists from all genres have graced the historic Zeiterion stage over the last 100 years, including Joan Rivers, Jay Leno, George Carlin, William Shatner, Lily Tomlin, Yo-Yo Ma, Peter Frampton, Bernadette Peters, James Brown, Willie Nelson, BB King, Crosby & Nash, Weird Al, Cyndi Lauper, Blondie, David Byrne, Alan Cumming, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater, and Martha Graham Dance Company to name just a few.
Five world premieres were held at the theater when it was The State, including the 1956 opening of “Moby Dick,” with Gregory Peck in attendance. The Zeiterion’s reopening gala in 1982 was headlined by Shirley Jones. Plus, the stage has been home to many dance recitals for local students throughout the region.
There is a major renovation plan in the works
According to a previous Standard-Times article, the project's estimated pricetag is $31 million, and construction is scheduled to begin in September 2023 and last 12 to 14 months.
The restoration work will include returning the marquee to the main entrance of the theater with a nod to the original 1923 design, as well as a smaller marquee over the box office entrance. Large two-story arched windows to the front of the building will also be brought back to their historic look.
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The auditorium will be returned to its original historic look, as well, from the color scheme (which took some hands-on research to uncover) and plaster to the painted friezes and silk tapestries adorning the walls. Seating will be reconfigured to the correct pitch for today's ADA handicap-accessibility requirements, and will add 80 or so seats to the current 1,200 capacity.
The auditorium's seating, lighting and sound will be enhanced to state of the art.
Other major changes inside the building
The Speakeasy lounge will be developed in the structure's basement, with a capacity just under 100. It will be able to host small performances, community gatherings, rentals, lectures, parties, and film presentations in a more intimate space.
The building will have dedicated education space for the first time, Gill said, though the Z already provides up to 20,000 students (not counting the New Bedford Symphony Orchestra or Festival Theatre educational programs) per year with education in the performing arts.
The main floor lobby space will be expanded where the concessions are currently. The restrooms will be greatly increased in size. The women's restroom will actually double in size, and the men's will be moved up from the basement. There will also be a second-floor lounge, connected to the lobby by a grand staircase.
During that time, The Z, New Bedford Symphony Orchestra and New Bedford Festival Theatre will continue performances in different city venues, with locations and scheduling still being formulated.
Additional reporting from Frank Mulligan at The Standard-Times.
Standard-Times staff writer Seth Chitwood can be reached at schitwood@s-t.com. Follow him on twitter: @ChitwoodReports. Support local journalism by purchasing a digital or print subscription to The Standard-Times today.
This article originally appeared on Standard-Times: The Zeiterion celebrates its birthday during David Sedaris performance
