Water damage cancels or moves all February shows at the Granada Theatre
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The recent flooding of the landmark Granada Theatre's stage area has upset the schedule of events for late January and all of February.
The Chairman of the Granada Theatre Board of Directors Palmer Jackson Jr. said Wednesday morning, "As of today we know we will be closed for the month of February."
The stage was flooded after an equipment accident on January 24.
"We have a counter weight rigging system on the stage and unfortunately due to human error it fell out of balance and that ruptured some sprinklers in the ceiling. Once you rupture the sprinklers then you have water damage," said Jackson.
The water flow could not immediately be controlled. Jackson said, "it was probably on for about 45 minutes and the stage got pretty well soaked."
The direct impact was in the stage area of the theatre and no damage has been reported to the audience section. The Granada has 1,500 seats.
The theatre's most recent renovations were finished in 2008 after a major community wide fundraising effort to create a world class venue for top performance shows with multiple resident companies and and array of traveling groups.
"The stage is our biggest concern. We've got people in there assessing it now to see how long it will take to fix but it is significantly damaged so it's going to take awhile to fix," said Jackson.
It's beyond just the stage floor which is now being removed.
Jackson said, "there's electrical. There's the rigging. There's the curtains, there's the subfloor and all that stuff so all of that has to be looked at and assessed."
Since Jan. 24, some shows have been moved to the Arlington Theatre or UCSB's Campbell Hall.
Information about the February shows can be found on the marquee, at the box office next to the front doors or the Granada web site under the events tab.
So far four weeks of shows are affected. Information for each of the shows has been posted on line so ticket holders or those who were interested can be informed.
"We are working with each of our resident companies and out outside renters to either reschedule if possible, move to another venue or unfortunately just cancel," said Jackson.
The Granada board said the shows will go on in every way possible, and the board is also remaining optimistic for one of its biggest celebration this Spring.
"It is our 100th year and the actual centennial is in April. You know hopefully we can get everything back ready to go for that. We got some great shows," said Jackson.
For more information, go to: The Granada Theatre
