News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Cumberland County Playhouse continues to assess their damages after the sprinkler system malfunctioned and flooded parts of the theater.
Marketing Director John Fiomte said the Playhouse has mostly recovered as work to replace the sprinklers begins Wednesday.
“We have gotten the lobby floor, which was drenched, and both of the theaters have been dried out. That took about two days,” Fiomte said. “The downstairs dressing rooms were affected and flooded, and rehearsal studios were also dried out and ready to use within a couple of days.”
The Playhouse’s fire alarm system was triggered during routine testing last week, damaging sound and lighting systems and theater flooring.
Fiomte said they won’t know the full extent of the damage until their current shows end.
“The show that is playing in there right now, which is ‘Noises Off’, has a very large set that revolves,” Fiomte said. “We won’t be able to ascertain if there was more damage to the show floor until the show closes and we can get that set out of there, so we can actually examine the floorboards, the sub-floors, and things like that.”
Fiomte said the damages are in the tens of thousands of dollars as they work with their insurance company to recover some of their losses. However, the Playhouse is currently accepting donations through this week in order to help pay for some immediate expenses.
Fiomte said the Playhouse staff thanks everyone who has helped during this situation.
“We’re very very grateful to all those people who have supported us with financial donations as well as people who showed up from wherever they were,” Fiomte said. “They dropped what they were doing and they ran over here on that Tuesday morning to mop, push water out with squeegees, or to dry everything that they could.”
None of the Playhouse’s current performances have been canceled due to the sprinkler malfunction. Those interested in donating to the Cumberland County Playhouse can visit their Facebook page for more information.
