FOR years, performers like Bruce Springsteen, George Carlin and Whoopi Goldberg took the stage at the aging Count Basie Theater amid decaying plaster and leaking ceilings. Repairmen stood on call to fix any seat that suddenly gave way.
We used to tell the performers that the audience here was great; the house itself, not so good, said Numa Saisselin, the chief executive of the 82-year-old theater. Now we no longer have to make excuses. For all those who kept the faith and kept coming back here, we finally have a house worthy of their performances.
The paint is dry, new carpet has been installed and the scaffolding has come down at the newly renovated theater, on Monmouth Street. The reopening show, a rock and soul revue on Oct. 30, sold out, and tickets for a Nov. 8 performance by Tony Bennett have also.
We used to tell the performers that the audience here was great; the house itself, not so good, said Numa Saisselin, the chief executive of the 82-year-old theater. Now we no longer have to make excuses. For all those who kept the faith and kept coming back here, we finally have a house worthy of their performances.
The paint is dry, new carpet has been installed and the scaffolding has come down at the newly renovated theater, on Monmouth Street. The reopening show, a rock and soul revue on Oct. 30, sold out, and tickets for a Nov. 8 performance by Tony Bennett have also.
Red Bank residents were invited to an open house at the 1,500-seat theater a day before the first show for an advance peek at the renovation work. Lori Kislin, a Red Bank native, said she spent every Saturday of her childhood watching movies at the theater. They did a wonderful job, she said. The new dome is just gorgeous.
Just before the reopening, the theater received word that it had been recommended by a state review board for listing on both the New Jersey and National Registers of Historic Places.
The goal of the $7.8 million renovation project was to restore the theaters interior to its 1926 grandeur.
