Something’s afoot at the playhouse

Six days before the curtain lifts for “Something’s Afoot,” Lake City Playhouse volunteers were hustling Saturday to put in new seats.

When finished, the little theater will have 180 plush purple seats.

“This should resolve our No. 1 complaint that the seats were too uncomfortable,” said playhouse managing director Noel Barbuto.

Though replacing the chairs will reduce seating by more than 30, Barbuto said it shouldn’t hurt the operation. Few plays are sellouts and, in fact, he hopes the improvements, which include a fresh coat of paint, will help entice more residents to enjoy community theater productions.

On Saturday, volunteers were busy drilling sturdy wood screws deep into the floor to keep the seats stable. Getting everything aligned was a bit of a challenge. Some of the seats are bigger than others so arranging everything was akin to putting together a puzzle.

When finished, the new seating arrangement should also provide more leg room.

The seats were donated by Cheryl Ann Rossi about 18 months ago. She bought them from an out-of-state theater when she had plans to open a new playhouse in Coeur d’Alene. When plans changed, she donated them, Barbuto said.

“We’ve been sitting on these for quite a while, so it’s nice we can finally get this done,” Barbuto said.

Many of the theater’s loyal show-goers are senior citizens, and Barbuto said it was definitely time to give them some relief with newer seats. He hopes to raise money by having patrons give $50 for a plaque that will be attached to each seat.

The playhouse already has sold about 60 of them.

Now that new seats are installed, Barbuto said the playhouse hopes to find a new show curtain and ticketing machine.

For more information about shows and the theater, call (208) 667-1323.