Tuesday, August 4, 2009; Posted: 03:08 PM - by BWW News Desk

Leontyne Price was the first performer on it. Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater danced on it. And "Les Misérables" performed 216 shows on it, breaking the record for number of engagements at one theater stage - 11. After hosting 25 years of performances, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts is retiring its original stage floor and renovating it this summer.

Ordway's 4,500 square-foot stage floor is being renovated by Minneapolis hardwood flooring experts Anderson Ladd. It is a traditional, sprung floor ideal for dance, opera and musical theater performances. Throughout the seven-week-long construction process, oak flooring will be installed and the permanent trapdoors will be repositioned. The renovated stage will then receive several coats of stain and precise buffing treatments to ensure a pristine finish.

"Over the years, the Ordway's Main Hall stage has been sanded and resanded numerous times; it was too worn-down to refinish it again," says Ordway's President and CEO Patricia Mitchell. "It is vital to maintain the condition of the Ordway for all who enjoy and use its space so we may continue to bring exceptional theatrical, music and dance performances to the Twin Cities"

Funds for the renovation of the stage floor came from the state bonding bill during the 2006 legislative session, part of a $7.5 million dollar renovation of the Ordway. The renovation project began in the fall of 2008 and will be completed in the summer of 2010.

The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra will be the first resident arts partner organization to perform on the newly renovated stage floor in September. Ordway's first event for the renovated stage floor is the launch of the first national tour of "Little House on the Prairie The Musical," which runs October 13 through 25. It will be followed by a full season of theatrical, music, opera and dance productions presented by the Ordway and its resident arts partners.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts

Recognized as one of the leading non-profit performing arts centers in the nation and Saint Paul's most elegant and inviting performance space, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts presents and produces Tony Award®-winning productions in its Theater Season; and comprehensive, multicultural performances in its Target® World Music and Dance Series. Ordway provides a home for resident arts organizations - The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, The Minnesota Opera and The Schubert Club. Please visit ordway.org for more information.

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts
345 Washington Street
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Box Office: 651.224.4222
Groups: 651.282.3111
ordway.org

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