In Sunday’s (7/27) Times-Picayune (New Orleans), Katherine Sayre writes that plans are underway to restore and reopen the Orpheum Theater in New Orleans. “The 96-year-old space, shuttered since Hurricane Katrina, is the preferred venue for the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra because of its pristine acoustic…. Real estate developer Roland von Kurnatowski is “overseeing a $13 million yearlong renovation of the theater…. He and his wife, Mary von Kurnatowski, are perhaps best known as the owners of Tipitina’s club and founders of Tipitina’s Foundation…. They bought the Orpheum for $1.5 million in February with business partner Eric George…. The new owners hope to restore the history while creating a space for multiple uses, from the return of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and other musical performances to movie premieres, private events and fundraisers…. The Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and the Tipitina’s Foundation will put their offices downstairs. The project is expected to be finished in the summer of 2015, in time for the orchestra to open its 2015-16 season in the Orpheum that fall…. James William Boyd, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra’s CEO, said … the group is hopeful that its return will attract first-time and returning concert-goers. ‘We can’t wait to get in there,’ he said.” The LPO currently performs at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre, Saenger Theatre, and other venues throughout the New Orleans region.
Posted July 29, 2014
Photo by Julia Kumari Drapkin, Nola.com | The Times-Picayune
