MADISON, Wis. -- It has gone from an idea of a few to near-reality for all of us to share. If you've been downtown at all, you know the project is moving full speed ahead.
Opening night is now just three months away. "News 3 At Ten" is taking a weekly look at what's happening with the arts district and the key cast members making this production happen.
This week, two more buildings have come down, including a Madison institution, the Radical Rye.
It's very evident a lot is changing on the two hundred block of State Street. But it's what you can't see going on behind the scenes that promises to be equally as impressive when the curtain rises on a new era for the arts -- the final wiring of lighting and all audio components, ticket vending systems, final check of mechanical risers, etc.
In between meetings, in the Overture's new, temporary headquarters, Bob D' Angelo, president and CEO of the Overture Center for the Arts, remains busy. He's been working on this project since 1997 when it was just an idea.
"It's feeling incredibly real now that I've moved out and across the street where can look at it all day going on out of window," he said. "It's starting to feel real because planning details that don't have to do with design, don't have to do with construction. We're planning for how many ushers will need on the third night, where security will be, where will we serve the food … "
Every last detail is being planned. D' Angelo said it's these little things that will and have already made the biggest difference. For example, the size of the new loading dock is large enough for productions such as Phantom of the Opera, which comes with about 28 trucks and takes 10-12 days to unload.
"We were somewhat limited before -- 'Phantom couldn't fit, major ballets wouldn't fit. We didn't play major symphony orchestras because the acoustics, weren't appropriate."
In Overture Theater, that won't be a problem.
"There isn't anything that plays in theatres we won't be able to play," D' Angelo said. "It's not a question of what can we do, its what can't we do, and there isn't anything."
Tickets for the upcoming season just went on sale and are selling at 68 percent over this time last year.
D' Angelo credits much of that with the Broadway shows now coming in.
Tune in to "News 3 At Ten" next Thursday for an update.
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Grand Opening: A, B, Cs Of Overture
