Wow!!! It's finally done folks. Like birthin' a new baby, our major renovation to the grand ol' 1927 Arabian Theatre has taken almost nine full months. Using mostly volunteer help from LLT Board members and other friends, the old auditorium chairs have been pulled and replaced with gorgeously brand new comfortable seating, the old flooring and carpet is gone and totally replaced, the historic original chandeliers have been rewired and refitted and then most exciting of all is the new paint job inside the theatre.
When work first started in the summer of 2008, old original artwork from 1927 was discovered underneath some of the wall covering that was installed in the 1930s when 'talkie' movies first started and adjustments had to be made inside the Arabian to help improve the acoustics. That original art work was saved and repaired and was unveiled to the public when we began our new season in March 2009.
Outside the building, the old original 1930s Arabian sign is now hanging on the back corner of the building and is visible from Saw Mill Road/Five Points, and in its place on the front of our theatre is a brand new working neon sign that is an exact replica of that original piece. For the first time since the Arabian closed as a movie theatre in 1976, downtown Laurel is aglow with bright red and green neon. Also out front, a nice new archway cut into the courtyard wall opens directly to the Pinehurst Park with a beautiful view of the park and fountain there.
LLT President Amanda Robertson and renovations chairmen George Jackson and Robbie Robinson and their crews worked long and hard for months and months to wrap it all up in time for the grand unveiling at our season opener of Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in March 2009.
Director Wess Hughes picked that show specifically because of its setting in old Egypt. Like so many of the theatres built in the 1920s, the interior of the Arabian was designed and decorated with a mix of Arabic, Egyptian and Persian influences and the new renovation of our theatre highlights many of those touches.
The entire renovation was funded by donations from patrons who 'bought' a chair; those folks are honored on plaques hanging in the Arabian lobby.
Look what we found!
LLT volunteers working on the summer renovations found some of the original 1927 art work that hadn't been seen in decades and decades. It got covered when 'talkie' movies started in the early 1930s and the Arabian had to add acoustical treatment on the walls to help with the new sound. Board members including Brent Holifield and George Jackson pulled back the old wallboard and stuffing that had covered and protected it for so long, restoring those original hidden 1927 art designs throughout our local gem.