Reimagining a Classic

Phase II: Renovating the Balcony & Restrooms

In July and August 2024, the Newtown Theatre embarked on phase II renovations to address the balcony and basement restrooms.

Balcony Renovations
The transformation of the balcony was dramatic! Step one was to demolish the projection booth and remove all of the old seats. The projection booth was replaced with a much smaller, open-air booth in which our sound and lighting technicians work.

Thanks to the new booth’s smaller footprint, we added 27 new seats to the balcony! Additional balcony improvements include new hardwood floors, new seats, and improved lighting.

Fear not, the loss of the projection booth doesn’t mean we will stop showing movies! Phase II renovations included the purchase of a new $50,000 digital projector inserted it into the front of the balcony, which is hollow. The new projector is as good if not better than our old projector, ensuring we will still be showing movies for years to come.

Restroom Renovations
Our basement restrooms were completely reimagined. We replaced the extremely cramped men’s and women’s rooms with seven unisex single-person toilet rooms. This nearly doubled the number of toilets we have.

We are also pushed the facilities farther into the basement, which created a bathroom “lobby” and greatly improved the flow of foot traffic in the restroom area. In addition to the toilet rooms, there are four sinks outside the toilet rooms.

A Successful Phase I

This second phase of renovations follows the theatre’s very successful Phase I renovations that were completed in the fall of 2021.

Those renovations transformed the theatre’s first floor and included new seats, a new hardwood floor, new paint, new acoustic panels, the addition of a sprinkler system, an expanded front porch with a wheelchair lift, and the addition of an ADA-compliant restroom on the first floor.