(2.1) Doors Open RI has arranged a peek behind the scenes at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC). Saturday’s open house, Curtains Up!, is free and open to all. (Facebook event.)
Opened in 1928 as “Loew’s State”, the largest movie palace in Southern New England, it was designed by renowned theatre architects C.W. and George Rapp of Chicago known for their opulent and grand designs. It was a roaring success, but eventually the popularity of televisions took a toll on the theatre and attendance declined. The building’s careful restoration over the course of decades and its rebirth as Rhode Island’s premier Broadway theatre has played a vital role in Providence’s renaissance. Today PPAC, listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, is one of our greatest local landmarks.
Explore the projection booth with its views of the theater below . . . step onstage and behind the curtains . . . experience the powerful and reverberating sounds of the theater’s 1927 mighty 5-manual Wurlitzer pipe organ . . . and meet house organist Peter Krasinski!
Free, 1pm to 3pm, Saturday, February 1, PPAC, 220 Weybosset Street, (directions)