The BAM Rose Cinemas were created out of the space formerly occupied by BAM’s 1000-seat Carey Playhouse, named for the late wife of the former NY governor. You get a glorious, closeup view of the detail in the proscenium arch in the top-most theatre which is tucked just below the old ceiling.
I worked at BAM when the Majestic was being “renovated.†The roof was mostly gone; the seats were crumbling. It would have been somewhat dishonest and prohibitively expensive to turn it into a glitzy showcase. Instead the concept was to stabilize it while updating the technical facilities. The orchestra and first balcony were joined and the main playing area was moved in front of the proscenium â€" necessitating those “barber chairs†in the top balcony so you could still see the action. When the BAM Majestic reopened, it was widely-heralded as an innovative design. But young schoolchildren coming to morning School-Time shows were more likely to express fear that the building would collapse around them. The first production was Peter Brook’s marathon [i think it was 11 hours over three sittings] presentation of The Mahabarata. The first video shoot was an HBO Paul McCartney special.
The BAM Rose Cinemas were created out of the space formerly occupied by BAM’s 1000-seat Carey Playhouse, named for the late wife of the former NY governor. You get a glorious, closeup view of the detail in the proscenium arch in the top-most theatre which is tucked just below the old ceiling.
I worked at BAM when the Majestic was being “renovated.†The roof was mostly gone; the seats were crumbling. It would have been somewhat dishonest and prohibitively expensive to turn it into a glitzy showcase. Instead the concept was to stabilize it while updating the technical facilities. The orchestra and first balcony were joined and the main playing area was moved in front of the proscenium â€" necessitating those “barber chairs†in the top balcony so you could still see the action. When the BAM Majestic reopened, it was widely-heralded as an innovative design. But young schoolchildren coming to morning School-Time shows were more likely to express fear that the building would collapse around them. The first production was Peter Brook’s marathon [i think it was 11 hours over three sittings] presentation of The Mahabarata. The first video shoot was an HBO Paul McCartney special.