October 7, 2000

...Meanwhile, one of the oldest community theater companies in the area in sporting a face lift.

Tonight, The Monmouth Players will show off their renovated space at the Navesink Library Theater, Sears and Monmouth avenues, Middletown.

The invitation-only event is sold out, said Lori Renick, the Player's secretary.

"The library decided to make everything brighter so the walls are painted a Bennington gray and trimmed with a rustic blue, rather than all those dark brown walls we had, " she said. "Also, they installed a fan that sucks out hot air and installed new windows so we can open them up, which we couldn't do with the old ones."

The new look was sparked by a need to upgrade the electrical wiring to conform to code, Renick explained, and sort of snowballed from there. The theater will now have vertical lighting on the sides of the stage as well as lighting over the audience.

This is good because the expanded-thrust stage, which was square and is now curved, could not be properly lit with the former system.

New, more comfortable seats are expected to arrive by February, Renick said. Up to 120 people can be accommodated, she added.