Stage 212 plans $100,000 in improvements at La Salle theater

Many seat cushions are frayed. The heating, ventilating and air conditioning system and ceiling need work. And the acoustics? Stage 212 thinks the laughs and zingers need help reaching the audience.

To remedy this, Stage 212 has launched a capital campaign aimed at improving the overall audience experience. Although the La Salle theater company has a tradition of offering Broadway-caliber productions – and with comparable talent – the declining physical plant sometimes detracts from the stage craft.

The shows after the renovation are going to be awesome.”

—  Mary Mauck, chairwoman for the renovation committee

Once the funds are in hand, the HVAC issues will be corrected for good. The fabric covering on the walls will come off and be replaced with acoustic panels which, coupled with a new sound booth and speakers, will make the audio sparkle. New and more comfortable seats are going in, too.

“The shows after the renovation are going to be awesome,” said Mary Mauck, chairwoman for the renovation committee.

All this work will cost about $100,000 – maybe more – and the company needs help paying the freight. Donations are welcome, although Stage 212 is planning a series of fundraisers to be ready for the work, which is targeted for late 2025.

Reid Tomaason, production manager of the theater, said Stage 212 has made improvements before. During the pandemic, for example, the theater got a thorough cleaning, and volunteers reorganized the costumes and props.

Nevertheless, this is the first major fundraiser since 2011, when Stage 212 addressed the theater’s failing roof. Tomaason said Stage 212 decided to address the needs of spectators rather than tackle backstage issues and the needs of the performers.

“At the end of the day, we decided the renovation had to be about the audience experience,” he said, “because they’re the ones who are kind of suffering with our seats and the sound quality.”

Natalie Smigel, business manager for Stage 212 and fundraising chair, said Stage 212 juggled its autumn 2025 program and selected easy-to-mount productions to allot about two months for workers to complete the capital improvements.

The biggest need remains donor support, although Stage 212 was pleased with the success of the Buddy Holly-Roy Orbison tribute held in June. The inaugural fundraising event resulted in about 230 tickets sold.

Now, Stage 212 is urging donors to participate in the Queen of Hearts event, a progressive raffle offered in collaboration with Fire on Fifth in Peru. Tickets go on sale July 1, and the first weekly drawing will be July 10.

Stage 212 opened the Robert D. Manahan Theater in La Salle in 1997, and the age is beginning to show. The physical plant needed enough work that Stage 212 considered moving out of downtown La Salle altogether.

“We’d actually started discussing years ago whether to have a renovation here or look for another building or, similar to Engle Lane Theatre in Streator, get something out in the country,” Mauck said.

But too much blood, sweat and tears had been invested in the Robert Manahan Theatre, and board members couldn’t bring themselves to pull up the tent stakes and move. Besides, where better than First Street in La Salle with nearby restaurants for patrons to take in dinner with a show?

“The city of La Salle is so good to us,” Mauck said. “We love the location. We love being downtown with the restaurants. The businesses just really support us.”