KC Rep Nearing Capital Campaign Goal for Spencer Theatre Renovation

?The Kansas City Repertory Theatre (KC Rep) today announced fundraising for the $5 million renovation of Spencer Theatre and lobby has raised $4.793,700 million, according to officials with Kansas City Repertory Theatre and the University of Missouri-Kansas City Foundation. Renderings of the renovated Spencer Theatre can be found here .

Angela Lee Gieras, Executive Director of Kansas City Repertory Theatre, said she is confident the momentum will continue so fundraising can be complete by March 1. That deadline must be met in order for construction to begin in the summer of 2015 and completed in time for Kansas City Repertory Theatre's 2015 production of A Christmas Carol.

"Today we are celebrating the extraordinary generosity of the Kansas City community," said Gieras. "By providing the resources necessary to renovate Spencer Theatre into an inspiring facility that will serve KC Rep, UMKC and our audiences for decades to come, this community has demonstrated that cultivating passionate audiences, artists and advocates has been and will continue to be a focus for KC Rep."

Spencer Theater, home of the Kansas City Rep, is located in UMKC's James C. Olson Performing Arts Center on the Volker campus. The project includes the new lighting and acoustic design; a new stage floor; and 4,000-square-feet of new construction, including new restrooms, second floor lounge, and a beautiful expansion of the lobby of the performing arts center. Little has been done to modernize the space since it opened in 1979.

In addition to the Hall Family Foundation's $3 million lead gift, commitments to the project include major gifts from:

· Marion and Henry Bloch Family Foundation

· Kay and John Callison

· Gary Dickinson Family Charitable Foundation

· Kevin A. Dunn

· Stanley H. Durwood Foundation

· Donald J. Hall, Sr.

· Laura and David Hall

· Nancy and Bob Hatch

· Ellen and Irv Hockaday

· Linda and Topper Johntz

· Vera Olson

· Sosland Foundation

· Richard J. Stern Foundation for the Arts

· Sunderland Foundation

· Dr. Linda Hood Talbott

· Sue and Bert Trucksess

· William T. Kemper Foundation for the Arts

The total fundraising goal for the project, which marks the Rep's 50th anniversary, is $5 million.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Kansas City Repertory Theatre, one of the nation's oldest and most respected regional theaters, is the epicenter of a great theatre town. KC Rep produces theatrical excellence, creating and sharing stories at the center of our nation's creative crossroads. KC Rep advances the art form while cultivating passionate audiences, artists, and advocates to invest in our region's creative future. We build community by connecting people through productions and outreach that educate, entertain, challenge and inspire.

Lauded by The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, Variety and the Toronto Sun, the Rep produces mainstage plays and special events at Spencer Theatre, where it serves as the professional theatre in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), and Copaken Stage located in downtown Kansas City. Kansas City Rep employs more than 250 professional artists, technicians and administrators, and serves more than 100,000 patrons and 12,000 school children annually. Kansas City Repertory Theatre is led by Artistic Director Eric Rosen, Executive Director Angela Lee Gieras and Producing Director Jerry Genochio.

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