AMERICAN THEATRE | Quintessence Theatre Group Purchases Historic Sedgwick Theater

PHILADELPHIA: Quintessence Theatre Group introduced final month that they’ve bought the Sedgwick Theater, the place the corporate has been in residence for 14 years. The theatre’s board of administrators bought the constructing for $2.3 million.

“It has been our long-held dream to make the Sedgwick our everlasting dwelling, and we’re grateful for the outpouring of help, monetary and in any other case, that we have now acquired from the group,” board chair Patricia Stranahan mentioned in an announcement. “We’re excited to start to renovate this stunning Artwork Deco constructing and we stay dedicated to Quintessence’s mission to carry traditional theatre to Philadelphia, the area, and the nation.”

The Sedgwick Theater is within the Mt. Ethereal neighborhood of Northwest Philadelphia. It first opened as a cinema in 1928 and was bought by David and Betty Ann Fellner in 1994, serving as the house of the Sedgwick Cultural Heart till 2006. In 2010, Quintessence founder Alex Burns organized for the brand new theatre firm to lease the house.

Quintessence will renovate the Sedgwick with funds from Pennsylvania’s Redevelopment Help Capital Funding Program. The theatre acquired $1.75 for renovation funds from the state program. They hope to finish renovations in time for the Sedgwick’s a centesimal anniversary in 2028.

“I can’t consider a greater strategy to begin our fifteenth anniversary season than with Quintessence’s dedication to the Sedgwick as our everlasting dwelling in Mt. Ethereal,” Quintessence govt director Erica Ezold mentioned in an announcement. “I sit up for realizing our bold plans for the Sedgwick and making it an area the place Quintessence Theatre and the group can thrive for years to come back.”

Quintessence will produce their sixteenth season off-site whereas the Sedgwick is being renovated, and can return to the constructing on the finish of 2026 or the start of 2027. A gaggle of personal donors have financed Quintessence’s buy of the Sedgwick.

Quintessence Theatre Group is devoted to bringing epic works of traditional drama and literature to the up to date stage. As a text-based, actor-focused repertory theatre firm, Quintessence re-envisions the classics to encourage their group to think about what is crucial in theatre and in human nature. As of 2023, Quintessence had an approximate price range of $1.3 million.

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