zNewsletter Sunday

Major Improvements Underway at Capitol Theatre in Wheeling

WHEELING - Shows at the Capitol Theatre in Wheeling are taking somewhat of an intermission for the summer while long-awaited upgrades are taking place inside the historic entertainment venue.

Over the past few weeks, crews have begun work to replace the old fly system - or theatrical rigging system - from which lights, backdrops and other staging components of shows are suspended. Officials from the Wheeling Convention and Visitors Bureau, which owns the Capitol Theatre, and the Greater Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority, which manages the facility and brings the many acts to the Wheeling landmark’s stage, had been pushing to bring a new fly system to the theater for years.

In fact, five years ago - when the CVB announced that the 10-year mortgage on the facility had been paid in full - Executive Director Frank O’Brien named the replacement of the fly system as one of the key improvements needed to move the venue forward into the future.

Justin Malarkey, production manager at the Capitol Theatre and WesBanco Arena, said work on the fly system began on June 24.

"It will be done Sept. 1," he said. "Our old system could only hold 350 pounds on it, which is very undersized for a lot of shows that are coming in here now."

Additionally, the old fly system was just that - old. While some components of that system were likely replaced or received the most recent upgrades in the 1980s or ’90s, some of the rigging may likely have been as old as the building itself. The Capitol opened to the public on Thanksgiving day in 1928.

Malarkey explained that the fly system is critical to what can be presented on stage for any given show. The system of ropes, pulleys and counterweights carry the weight of everything from lights to curtains, backdrops and other theatrical elements.

"Whenever one of those pipes is all the way down on the ground to load it, there’s an arbor that’s up in the air - in our case, our loading bridge is about 60 some feet up there - and they load weights onto it so that the weights match," Malarkey explained. "Then you can use that rope to pull whatever is hanging on that set up or down."

Once the new system is installed, it will more than double the previous weight capacity - which officials said had been long outdated.

"The new system will be able to hold between 750 and 1,000 pounds," Malarkey said. "Everything about it is going to be brand new - all of the ropes, all of the hoists, all of the pulleys - everything. And it’s all been engineered specifically for the room.

"But the biggest thing is going to be the weight capacity for us, especially for Broadway shows. When they come in here, they want to be able to hang some of these big scenery pieces that - a lot of them - weigh over 350 pounds. So this is going to allow us to do - hopefully - some of the bigger, heavier Broadway shows."

Kelly Tucker, executive director of the Greater Wheeling Sports and Entertainment Authority, said word about the Capitol Theatre’s major improvements is already getting out, and it will inevitably open the door to bigger productions in the future.

"A lot of the promoters I’ve talked to already are excited about it, because it does open us up to a lot more opportunities," Tucker said.

Officials noted that in recent years, some tours either could not make the stop in Wheeling or could book a show at the theater, but had to eliminate certain elements of their shows because of the limited capacity of the old fly system.

The main rigging contractor that is installing the new system at the Capitol Theatre is Pittsburgh Stage Inc. of Sewickley, Pennsylvania, and area subcontractors have been working on the improvements, as well. Erb Electric was hired to provide electric service to the new hoists and Quality Steel also performed some steel work above the stage.

"We’re using our local stagehands to do some odd jobs involved with the project, too," Malarkey said, noting that the new system will not only have an increased weight capacity but also will have motorized hoists, will be a lot safer and should last a long time.

Funding for the project was secured through a combination of sources, including a Congressionally Directed Spending award obtained via requests submitted by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., as well as money distributed for improvements to the Capitol Theatre and WesBanco Arena from the city of Wheeling’s allocation of federal pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act. The rigging system alone cost $800,000, and other upgrades are also underway.

"We purposefully left this summer open - we didn’t book anything in order to leave the time for this project," Malarkey said. "We left 10 weeks for it."

Some other significant improvements are also taking place behind the scenes while the Capitol Theatre is on its temporary intermission.

Sarel Venter of Adventures in Elegance is spearheading a number of these improvements, including plaster restoration in the proscenium - or the decorative inset of the theater framing the stage. Portions of the corners had been deteriorating from water that had entered the building through old air shafts that had ventilated bowling alleys that once were situated beneath the stage and theater room.

Venter has also taken on the project that will bring a home to the stars on the "walk of fame" that for decades greeted visitors outside the main doors of the Capitol Theatre. The stars - each placed for a notable artist who graced the stage of the legendary theater - were removed from the Main Street sidewalk during the ongoing construction of the Downtown Streetscape Project.

Instead of being re-installed on the sidewalk, the stars - which have been refurbished and polished - will be displayed on a wall inside the lobby area, complete with track lighting to highlight the legendary artists of the iconic theater’s past.

"We’re putting in handrails in the balcony as well," Malarkey said.

Although the building has an elevator that can take guests to the ballroom above the lobby, there is no elevator access to the balcony. The stairs on the balcony are relatively steep, and some guests find it difficult to make the climb to the upper level seats when there are no handrails.

Officials said that aside from the construction, the only activity taking place in the theater until September has been the regular gatherings for the Newbridge Church. A temporary stage extension above the orchestra pit has been installed for their use during services while construction continues above the stage.

Once the work is complete, the theater will reopen with a full slate of shows and events scheduled in the fall.