Practice Quiz 104 | B2 – Upper-Intermediate

Galtwood Native to Open Restored Antrell Theater
 

GALTWOOD (June 22)- After much painstaking restoration work, Galtwood native Jude Raglan says that the Antrell Theater will reopen in the fall with a performance of A Faraway Year.

During an interview at a Lockett Street cafe, Mr. Raglan says that the idea of restoring the theater drew him back to Galtwood after twenty years away.

- [1] -. He was working as an administrator at a Latimev theater when he learned during a family visit two years ago that Antrell Theater was about to close.

"I was shocked," he says. The old theater, which sits at the corner of Fourth Street and Nichols Boulevard, had been a beloved part of his youth. He recalls, "We used to walk over from our house on Carden Lane. Secing The Glass Flag there even inspired me to work in theater."

Antrell Theater's owners, however, said that it was no longer profitable. - [2] -. So Mr. Raglan bought it for the low price they were asking, quit his job, and set about restoring it with the help of a grant from the Galtwood city council.

The work, he explains, has focused on revealing and replicating the beauty of its original design. - [3] -. At the same time, some modernizing improvements, such as better accessibility for wheelchairs, have also been made.

Mr. Raglan says he chose "A Faraway Year" , the story of a group of friends' journey through a fantastical land of witches and giants, for the theater's first show because "it's a production that people of all ages can enjoy". - [4] -. He encourages those interested in being part of its cast or crew to visit www.antrelltheater.com for more information.