Bedford Playhouse Inc. has chosen the Dobbs Ferry firm Stephen Tilly, Architect to lead the multimillion-dollar renovation of the historic theater.
“Early on, they provided the original design concept for the new playhouse, which we used to sell the whole initiative to the community,” said John Farr, president of Bedford Playhouse. “From the beginning, it was important to us that the firm had experience with designing movie houses. We feel we”™re in great hands.”
- The Bedford Playhouse at 633-647 Old Post Road in the hamlet of Bedford Village.
The renovation is expected to begin this summer and will be supported by the $2.5 million Farr and Friends of the Bedford Playhouse raised to prevent the structure from becoming retail space.
The renovation will include building a theater with approximately 280 seats that will retain the charm and grandeur of movie houses from the golden age of film but also incorporate cutting-edge technology, screens and sound, Farr said.
A second, 90-seat theater will focus on creating an “intimate and modern feel and will be designed for maximum comfort and an unsurpassed viewing and listening experience,” Farr said.
Tilly has experience working with theaters as well as nonprofit organizations. The 16-person firm has done a number of award-winning projects in Westchester, including the Music Conservatory of Westchester in White Plains, according to the playhouse nonprofit.
The firm”™s cinema experience began with its conversion of a New York City bus barn into SoHo”™s first movie theater, the Film Forum. Following that, the Tilly firm designed a three-screen facility for the Film Forum on Houston Street, which led to collaboration with producer Donna Gigliotti and the design of a space for Red Shoes Productions, a joint project of Steven Spielberg and Martin Scorsese for a shared production space for smaller films.
According to Farr, the completion of the playhouse renovations is tentatively planned for the summer of 2016.
