Welcome to BigScreenBiz.com

I just finished a new section to the Lyric Theatre's web site. It is an online web tour that will guide you through the theater with before and after pictures of the Lyric during it's renovations. You can check it out at the link below:
http://www.thelyric.com/webtour/start.php3

---

Colin Wiseley
Lyric Theatre
Blacksburg VA
www.thelyric.com

I really enjoyed the tour of the Lyric Theatre. You certainly have accomplished a great deal.

Congratulations,greatjob!

Are there any plans to restore the front facade back to the way it was originally?

The only thing that I would have recommended you do differently would have been to reinstall two 35mm projectors with automation. As a booker I find that I can almost always get better prints for classics and rep films when they know we have reel to reel. Platters can do too much damage to film. Besides, when they break down...it's refund time. That doesn't happen with two machines.

Other then that...I'm impressed. I hope to get down your way some day and stop by for the live tour.

Work has already begun restoring the marquee. It won't look exactly like the old one but will have new letter boxes, old timey support brackets and trim, new lights under it, and it won't be painted pink and green anymore. It's difficult to make out in the 1940s pictures but there used to be 4 foot tall comedy and tragedy masks at the top of the facade. No one knows when they were taken down or where they ended up but we have pictures and would like to have reproductions produced and installed one day.

We still have the 2nd 35mm projector that used to be in the booth but it's still fitted for carbon arc and was missing it's film head. There are currently no plans to use it in the booth but we are aquiring a junk film head and will set it up in the lobby as a display. I also want to see if we can put a spotlight in it and have it project on to the menu board in the concession stand.

We have had very good luck with our platter system and have never had a brain wrap since we got the new Speco in Nov. Even before that brain wraps were few and far between and the failsafes always shut everything down before any damage was done.

Let me know if you're ever in this neck of woods, we'd love to show you around.

---

Colin Wiseley
Lyric Theatre
Blacksburg VA www.thelyric.com

[This message has been edited by cwiseley (edited March 30, 2000).]

Hi Colin... very impressive. The theatre does not look as big from the outside as from the inside. two balconies! Wow. But I think we have a problem. Perhaps you've gone to www.colonialtheatre.com and you've noticed a certain similarity between the two paint jobs? Just don't put an elephant on your roof! You ahve inspired me to add the tour. Will do it soon.

I think in your case with the art-deco style pink and green works. In our case the marquee doesn't match the outside or the inside of the theater and looks out of place. Rest assured, I don't think we'll be putting any elephants on our roof anytime soon

---

Colin Wiseley
Lyric Theatre
Blacksburg VA
www.thelyric.com