Portsmouth High School auditorium’s new seats are in

Lighting, sound systems come next

By Jim McGaw
Posted 7/24/19

PORTSMOUTH — Goodbye aching backs, hello cushioned seats.

The Portsmouth High School auditorium is now a sea of red after the original, 50-plus-year-old wooden folding chairs were …

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Portsmouth High School auditorium’s new seats are in

Lighting, sound systems come next

Posted

PORTSMOUTH — Goodbye aching backs, hello cushioned seats.

The Portsmouth High School auditorium is now a sea of red after the original, 50-plus-year-old wooden folding chairs were replaced this week by spanking new seats that will be especially welcome by those suffering from lower back pain.

“Horrible — they were so bad,” Matt Murphy, the school district’s facilities manager, said of the old seats, which were ripped out in late June by workers from Whitney Enterprises. The company started installing the new seats on July 17, Mr. Murphy said, and finished up Tuesday.

The job is part of the first phase of a major renovation project that’s transforming the theater — opened in 1963 — into a state-of-the-art community hub for drama and music. Fund-raising efforts are being led by the nonprofit Kate Grana Music and Arts Association (KGMAA) in memory of the beloved music teacher, choral director and vocal coach who died in May 2016. 

The seats are a big upgrade from the old ones, and not just in terms of comfort.

“We had to make adjustments throughout, to provide for handicapped seating, which we didn’t have before, other than have people sit in the front row,” Mr. Murphy said, adding that the aisle seats will also be lighted for better visibility.

Work will continue with a new lighting system installed in two weeks and a new sound system going in three weeks from now, according to Margie Brennan of KGMAA. The installation of new rugs will follow.

“It will be done by Aug. 23,” Mrs. Brennan said.

The grand opening, ribbon-cutting and “naming ceremony” — it will be known as the Kate Grana Auditorium — will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 24, she said. There will also be a number of musical performances that night.

“A lot of Kate’s former students want to come back and celebrate,” Mrs. Brennan said.

More donations needed

Although the bulk of the renovation project has been paid for through private donations and grants (most notably a $225,000 contribution from the van Beuren Charitable Foundation), KGMAA is still seeking more contributions.

“We are still looking for donations to finish the AV (audio/visual) system,” said Mrs. Brennan. “It cost way more than I had anticipated — $18,000 — and that’s not including the projector and the screen, which I had anticipated about $10,000. We’d like to get that in for the digital broadcast media production that (PHS teacher) Gary Vaspol runs.”

Donors can also still purchase personalized seat plates. “We’ve got about half the chairs accounted for now,” she said.

To make a donation or for more information, visit www.kgmaa.org or call Mrs. Brennan at 401/924-2158.

Kate Grana, Portsmouth High School, KGMAA

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Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.