A nearly $100,000 competitive state tourism grant awarded to Galesburg’s Orpheum Theatre this month lays the foundation for a modernized lighting system at the historic venue.
Executive Director Andrew Driscoll said the new LED stage lighting system will bring the 900-seat theater up to current professional standards, which will attract more touring productions and elevate the use of the space by local organizations.
“It changes everything. This is transformative for the Orpheum,” Driscoll said. “This will have the same tech that Broadway productions are using, the same lighting, the same approach. So that's really exciting in terms of what this will also provide to our local partners.”
Driscoll said currently, there are touring productions that may stop in Peoria and Davenport but skip over Galesburg due to constraints with the Orpheum’s current tech.
For productions that do come to Galesburg, the outdated lighting system can be a challenge.
Driscoll said that was the case last year when the Orpheum hosted the touring production of August Wilson’s play “Two Trains Running.”
“They had to completely rework their lighting design to be able to accommodate the old tech that we had and the old lighting board that we had, which caused them more work,” Driscoll said. “It makes us a less desirable partner as organizations and artists are looking for tours.”
The project will be supported by a $99,250 grant from the State of Illinois’ Tourism Attractions Grant Program, administered by the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.
The program funds improvements intended to increase visitation and strengthen local tourism economies across the state. Galesburg’s Orpheum Theatre was one of 16 tourism attractions across the state to be awarded the grant this year, and the only one in west central Illinois.
“I am very grateful that we received this grant because I do think that that points towards an acknowledgement that Galesburg is an area that investment is important to be making from the state,” Driscoll said.
Driscoll said it is a matching grant, so the Orpheum will have to raise $99,250 for the project. He said the theater next month will launch a campaign called “The Orpheum in a New Light” to raise those funds. Additional details will be released soon.
The lighting upgrade continues a series of recent improvements at the theater, including roof repairs, replacement of the building’s front doors, structural repairs to a wall surrounding the stage funded by a state appropriation, and a safety-related exit improvement funded by a grant from Landmarks Illinois.
Driscoll said modernization projects are intended to help preserve the theater’s role as a regional cultural destination while keeping it viable for future audiences. He said it’s about preserving the history of the theater while modernizing it for future use.
“The use is what drives and keeps relevant the preservation, because it isn't just about having lighting in a building where you show theater. It's about having industry-standard professional lighting in the Jewel of Galesburg, which has 110 years of history,” Driscoll said.
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