Legacy Projects in the Performing Arts

While I was at Hardy Holzman Pfeiffer, I worked on a number of performing arts projects including: Hawaii Theater, Honolulu, HI Wilma Theater, Philadelphia, PA Brooklyn Academy of Music, NYC Whitaker Center for Science and the Arts, Harrisburg, PA New Victory Theater, NYC New Amsterdam Theater, NYC The Dance Theater of Harlem, NYC Carolina Theater, Durham, NC Alaska Performing Arts Center, in Anchorage, AK In all of them, I was a designer, coming up with ideas for discreet areas such as exteriors, interiors, lobbies, the auditorium, or even the design for an entire complex, such as the Whitaker Center. The Hawaii Theater was used as a movie theater from the 1930s to 1984. It re-opened in 1996 as a 1400-seat performing arts venue. This transformation required, among many other things, a new rake for the orchestra floor of the auditorium, improving the sightlines to the stage, and new lighting positions from which to light it. One of my first tasks was to diagram the rake of the floor. Malcolm Holzman came up with the idea of having “parterres” to break up the vast auditorium space, making it feel more intimate while improving the sight lines. For the new lighting positions, I added slots across the ceiling, which Malcolm dubbed “the cigars” due to the elongated rounded shapes towards their ends. The Wilma Theater opened in 1996 as a 300-seat theater under a parking deck! This explains the column span inside the auditorium. We were able to get a very deep rake (11 ½ ft) and a high fly loft (56 ½ ft for a 21 ft proscenium opening) as well as generous side wing space. My drawing for its exterior was carried out almost exactly as we designed it. The BAM Rose Cinemas opened in 1998. We were inspired by the original 1908 Lepercq ballroom and designed the second-floor lobby to “restore” its memory, albeit in a lighter and more theatrical manner. For the cinemas, we divided the old Carey Playhouse into 4 movie theaters and incorporated the old historical details into the design of the new spaces. The Whitaker Center for the Arts opened in 1999. The 696-seat theater is used for orchestral concerts, ballet, opera, and drama. Our design for the auditorium’s interior consisting of circular geometrical shapes makes the room seem smaller thereby creating a more intimate setting between audience and performers. The curved circulation spine was simply the result of connecting the first-floor street entry to the second-floor parking entry. This also brings you to the theater lobby room perched on the second floor overlooking the street. I remember being inspired by the Grand Theater of Bordeaux for this second-floor lobby room.