NORFOLK, Va. — It's the final curtain call for Tidewater Community College Roper Performing Arts Center, as officials said the theater is closing "indefinitely."
Only two years shy of its 100-year anniversary, the nationally-recognized theater is closing due to extensive water damage to the ceiling. Bits of century-old plaster are falling to the ground, and a net is set up to catch the pieces.
Now the future of the theater is uncertain, as a feasibility study has been ordered to identify the water damage issues and the cost for fixing it.
"She's an old girl, but she's resilient, she'll be back," said Paul Lasakow, executive director of TCC Roper Performing Arts Center.
Lasakow has been the executive director of the theater since 2001. He said he's noticed some of the problems for years, but the decision to close is still a difficult one.
The theater is not only home to TCC performing art students, but to countless community theater groups, and the stage for legendary acts like Houdini's water escape.
"We've created this niche space for not only our entire community to use, but to do it at an affordable price," said Lasakow. "Those shows will have to find some other venue in the meantime while the study goes on."
The feasibility study is set to start in December or January.
However, since the building is state-owned, so too is the theater. That means getting the necessary funding to repair the water damage could take a longer amount of time, and could even require approval from Virginia's General Assembly.
"At this point we just don't know," said Lasakow. "It's anyone's guess for how much it will cost, or when, and we won't know until the study is complete."
Lasakow said called the theater a cultural treasure, and said it has been recognized in the National Registrar of Historic Places for its irreplaceable architecture.
The last scheduled show at TCC Roper Performing Arts Center is a jazz recital set for December 13th.