Huntington Theater Begins $55 Million Renovation Project

The Huntington Theatre is preparing for a $55 million renovation project, The Boston Globe reports. The renovation will enable the playhouse to reopen in the fall of 2022, if all goes according to plan.

"We have a year-plus where we can't produce plays," said Michael Maso, managing director of the Huntington. "Why don't we try to take advantage of the downtime?"

The company will produce productions during the 2021-22 season, which will mainly take place at the theater company's smaller South End location, the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.

The renovations will include a new outdoor terrace, a new entrance and enclosed second-floor arcade, 29 all-gender public toilets, as well as a new elevator.

In the auditorium, larger, more comfortable seats will reduce seating capacity from 890 to roughly 750, though the number of wheelchair spaces will double to eight. The stage is getting new fly-rigging and acoustic systems, lighting fixtures, chandeliers, and many architectural details are being restored.

"Our idea is about bringing together the best of the past and the present," said principal architect Jason Forney of Bruner/Cott and Associates. "It's not a white-glove, historic preservation; it's a reinterpretation of this historic space with a contemporary twist."

Read more on The Boston Globe.