The Woodstock Playhouse, which has served the official “welcome” for visitors to the Ulster county arts-and-crafts village for nearly 85 years, has withstood hard times, fire and the threat of foreclosure.
Now, thanks to the Catskill Watershed Corp. (CWC), a new buyer will give it a much-needed makeover and allow it to take its rightful place among Woodstock”™s tourist destinations once more.
A $700,000 loan from CWC to the Hurley-based Pan American Dance Foundation will cover the cost of the nonprofit dance company”™s purchase of the building and provide the funds to update its interior and enclose it, according to Mike Triolo, CWC”™s economic development director. The original playhouse, opened in 1927, was rebuilt after it was destroyed by a suspicious fire in 1988.
“I think it”™s wonderful for the community,” said Meira Blaustein, co-founder and executive director of the Woodstock Film Festival. “It will be great to see new life coming into the playhouse. The dance group is planning to enclose it and make it a year-round facility.”
