No more bad seats at the Capitol Theatre

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Thanks to funding from the provincial and federal governments, the Capitol Theatre will be fixing what managing director Kim Rayworth describes as the venue’s single largest source of complaints from the public.

The uncomfortable seats in the theatre’s main hall, which were installed in the Main Street theatre in 1993, have needed to be upgraded for years, Rayworth said Friday during a news conference to announce the project.

The modernization project, which includes replacing the seats, got a boost Friday with the province providing $260,000 through the Regional Development Corporation, and Ottawa providing $450,000 through Heritage Canada.

Rayworth said the theatre is contributing about $300,000 to the project.

“We pride ourselves on saying there are no bad seats in the theatre but as I look out right now, I can see a few of them are kind of dented and banged up,” said Rayworth.

“It’s time to say bye-bye to those old seats, and we are going to replace them with something really, really wonderful.”

The theatre is working with a consulting agency in Toronto and hasn’t finalized its seating plan yet, but Rayworth said the new seats will maintain the look of the space while being more comfortable and there will be an increase in the number of accessible, barrier-free seats.

“The preliminary plans see the addition of up to 10 spaces for wheelchairs or other mobility provisions,” she said, adding there will also be space in this area for bariatric seats without arms.

The upgrade may mean decreasing capacity, but Rayworth said the current projection is only a decrease of about 10 seats in the 780-seat hall.

“We really hope to not lose much,” she said.

Along with the seating update, the funding will support upgrades to the technical quality of live events. The theatre will purchase a new sound console and a new LED panel system.

“This equipment is something we really rely on for our musicals and is technology that is also used by visiting and touring artists, so it’s something that gets used often,” she said.

Rayworth said the Capitol Theatre has continued to see an increase in attendance at events since the pandemic.

“Last season was our biggest season in terms of attendance and ticket sales,” she said, noting that they have also seen a high number of artists booking the space since 2020.

“We’ve never seen this level of activity in the history of our organization.”

Both Greg Turner, the minister responsible for Opportunities NB, and local MP Ginette Petitpas Taylor were present at the funding announcement. Petitpas said the theatre is so much more than a performance venue.

“It’s [a] Greater Moncton institution, and it is the heart of the artistic creation and community here in southeastern New Brunswick,” she said.

Work to upgrade the theatre will begin next June and is expected to be completed by the end of September.