St. Pete theatre damaged during Milton hosts clean-up

ST.PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — Dreamers throughout the area consider St. Petersburg City Theatre a second home. Instead of show tunes, the sound of fans fills the performance space, after Hurricane Milton.

Outside, the roof is hanging over the side of the building. The theatre’s board president Stefanie Lehmann describes, “It was such a quick thing. The wind grabbed it and took the whole thing off in one swoop.”

She says the storm’s impacts are obvious all around the St. Pete staple. There are holes in the roof where water poured onto audience seats and debris on the stage.

The damage leaves no performance space for the theatre’s two upcoming shows which are a primary source of income for the organization.

“We are a long legacy organization. We’ve been here for 100 years. We’ve done that by doing it as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible. It does not usually count for what’s sounding like it’s going to be $400,000 to $500,000 worth of damages,” said Lehmann.

It’s not the final curtain call for the theatre. They’re moving all rehearsals into the lobby and hosting a volunteer cleanup on Saturday. According to Lehmann, now, more than ever the show must go on.

Leaders at St. Petersburg City Theatre are requesting community help in multiple ways:

• Immediate clean-up
  • Saturday, October 19
  • 9:00 am – 3:00 pm
• Donations
  • Annual Donations (givingfuel.com)
• Roofing consultations
  • Contact: Office@SPCityTheatre.org

“There’s lots of folks in our different shows and our different community volunteers that their homes are messes right now and they find joy and temporary relief here. Even though it’s a mess right now, they’d rather take a minute away from their mess to deal with this mess,” she said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to WFLA.