It's going to be a long, hot, and not-too-entertaining summer for our loyal audiences. The Palladium Theater at St. Petersburg College is closing from late June to early October for major renovations.

But there's good news: When we reopen next fall, the Palladium will boast a state-of-the-art air conditioning and heating system. No longer will you need to use your program as a fan during sold-out shows. This renovation also will bring us a new electrical system, which will make our theater operations more efficient and reliable. When we plug in an extra coffee pot for our Encore talk-back sessions, the power will stay on in the building!

The new chillers and the new power boxes will be housed in a brand-new building in our east parking lot. That building also will include a new elevator to provide better access for our handicapped patrons and give us the ability to load larger shows directly to our second floor theater. The new building also will provide some much-needed storage and a covering for our stage door.

These improvements complement the redesign of our concession area and our dressing rooms, completed in January. St. Petersburg College will continue to make major investments to the Palladium in years to come, all designed to make this landmark theater even more of a community asset.

The Palladium's grand reopening concert on Saturday, Oct. 11, features the Statesmen of Jazz from Arbors Records and the Nate Najar Trio. Stay tuned for more news about that show.

The concert kicks off the Palladium's 10 th anniversary season, which promises to be our biggest and most ambitious ever. We will announce our season lineup in August.

See you at the theater in October!

Paul Wilborn
Executive Director
The Palladium at St. Petersburg College