Nearly five years ago, Traverse City's Old Town Playhouse (OTP) conducted a study to see if the community would support a new or expanded building. The community said "yes," but the organization's board and pricetag for a new structure said "no."

Executive Director Phil Murphy says the estimate came in at $18 million. “We thought we could maybe get $10 million,” he says, noting the plan then shifted to a three-year, three-phase renovation to focus on safety, audience comfort and "life span" of the facility.

“We looked at renovations or purchases that needed to be replaced now or had a 10-year life cycle,” adds Betsy Willis, OTP’s director of development. 

The first two phases are now complete, at a total cost of about $150,000. In year one, the front entrance was gutted and revamped, air-conditioning was added to the third floor, and the 110-year-old former church became ADA-compliant. A digital soundboard also was purchased, and baffling added to the orchestra pit.

Most of the funds came from individual donors, particularly those attending OTP’s annual Black and White Gala.

"We called it ‘Fund the Need’ and showed a video of the building and asked for money,” Willis says. That first year, “we raised about $65,000 in three minutes.” The rest came from grants, cash reserves and savings.

Phase two of improvements just wrapped and includes new exterior paint, a new awning over the front entrance and a repaved parking lot with more handicap spots. The downstairs level has new carpeting and the Mary Schmuckal Auditorium -- once the Studio Theater -- has been transformed into a space that can double as a lobby, complete with a concession stand and bar service.

Bar service could eventually be handled by nearby eatery Om Cafe and The Parlor, which has applied for a banquet license to serve alcohol before shows and during intermissions. The playhouse will rent space to The Parlor and provide insurance; The Parlor will keep all drink revenue. The banquet license is expected sometime in 2015, though a limited-use, nonprofit license will likely allow the Playhouse to offer drinks by mid-January.

The final -- and most significant -- phase will include a main stage auditorium facelift, including new chairs (the current seats were built in 1944 and installed in 1978.) Fundraising will take on a more public face as sponsored chairs will be available for $1,000 or $700 in the balcony. The balcony will also get a better “rise” to it, so people in the back rows have improved lines of sight. The phase three pricetag is estimated at $250,000.

Wiith a $700,000 annual budget, OTP is the third largest community theater in Michigan. Ticket sales are down this year, Murphy says, probably due to the enormous popularity of last year's two main stage shows, “Les Miserables” and “The Sound of Music." This year's lineup, he adds, has some promising shows, though, including "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "A Christmas Story," "Crimes Of The Heart," "Shrek, The Musical," and "Becky's New Car."