A nearly century-old venue in Saratoga Springs is set to undergo a $12 million renovation this year.
The Spa Little Theater originally opened in the 1930s as a lecture hall as a part of a suite of buildings, including nearby bath houses, funded by then-governor Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Now, columns on the front of the building and stone steps leading to the front doors are crumbling.
Saratoga Performing Arts Center has been working in partnership with Spa State Park since its amphitheater was built in 1964. SPAC has been running programs in the theater since 2022.
New SPAC president Chris Shiley says there are some obvious improvements to make.
“On the renovation side, what we do want to focus on out here is ADA access. We can see we have two ADA ramps. One of them was placed, I think, in the 80s, and unfortunately, is right under where the roof lines meet. So all the snow fall-off, all the rain fall-off, unfortunately falls right on the ramp. We added this metal temporary installation so that we could have safe ingress in but obviously we want to make sure that we have a more permanent solution that's in keeping with the design of the building. While this is functional, it's not necessarily the most esthetic view that we want to have,” said Shiley.
Walking just past the front doors, Saratoga Performing Arts Center CEO Elizabeth Sobol says it has taken a village to raise the funds for the $12 million renovation.
“So, we've raised close to $6 million in private donations. And then on the state side, the state has been incredible partner to us, Empire State Development came in with a $2.2 million grant. They've been a long-time partner with us on various amazing projects. And then, thanks to the recently enacted budget, and thanks to the governor, thanks to the legislature, and thanks to New York State Parks, another $2 million came in, so we're almost there on the budget to renovate,” said Sobol.
The renovation will expand the ticketing booth, create a concession stand, turn the current green room into a café, add a community room, and create a proper backstage area.
Sobol says the list of the building’s quirks is endless.
“We’ll start with our artist area security system,” said Sobol.
“You can hear the curtain draw, and now you’re backstage,” said Shiley.
“There is a sign over there that says ‘artists only’ but of course – yes it is not a very effective way to keep people out of the artist space which one needs to do for security and just artist comfort reasons,” said Sobol.
Toward the back of the building, the need for the renovation becomes even clearer. The only way for artists to cross from one side of the stage to the other is by a set of metal spiral staircases.
Shiley says a real backstage will change that.
“But you can imagine as a dancer or a performer you’re coming in and off the stage it’s dark, stage lights are on, and this can be very concerning. And for dance, crossover is a big part, you need to get from one side of the stage to the other without the audience being able to see you. Right now, the only way to do that is if you go down these spiral stairs and you go across in the dark basement and you come up on the other side. We actually had a flamenco company in here a couple months ago and they did not feel safe doing this. It was too dangerous for them in their shoes to go down these stairs and they were concerned about falling so they actually had to go out and run around the outside of the lobby to come in to get to the other side,” said Shiley.
The theater’s capacity is likely to stay around 500 seats, though a few may be removed to allow for the addition of several wheelchair accessible seats.
Standing on the stage, Shiley says the current red and blue color scheme will go, but the ornate chandeliers will stay.
“Yeah, I don’t think there’s ever been a renovation this substantial to this space. I’ve jokingly called it several times a ‘franken-theater’ because it was, as Elizabeth said, built as a lecture hall and I think they just added theatrical elements along the way to make it into a theater space. So, I don’t think there’s ever been a renovation of this size or scope in the space,” said Shiley.
The year-long renovation is set to begin in September.
