As heavy rains swept through the area last week, a sheet of plastic was pulled over the front rows of the center section of seating in the Meridian Little Theatre auditorium and a plastic swimming pool was placed near the ballroom’s bay window to catch a steady drip of water from the ceiling that sported a patch of bubbled up and chipping paint. Several seats in the auditorium bear water stains.
“The roof has been leaking for a while, but now we are at a critical stage,” said MLT artistic director Tiffany McGehee.
The ballroom was painted and new flooring installed less than a year ago to make it more attractive as a rental venue, she said.
But, “we have a bunch of water damage in the ballroom,” McGehee said, pointing to the ceiling above the bay window. “This will drip actively during heavy rains.”
After a fire destroyed the theater group’s 52nd Street Playhouse on North Hills Street in December 1972, MLT’s current playhouse on Highway 39 North was built and opened for the 1976-77 season. The new 400-seat, state-of-the-art playhouse was well received by MLT fans.
“The Little Theatre was built in the 1970s, and it’s got what I call the ‘70s mentality of flat roofs,” MLT board member Susie Broadhead said, jokingly.
The playhouse’s flat roof has lost some of its ability to properly drain rain water over the years, which is finding its way into the building through leaks, and has caused damage to ceilings and walls and even the lighting system, she said.
“The original roof is still up there,” said Diane Freeman, president of the MLT Board of Directors. “She is 47 years old, except for the part that has gotten patched and fixed over the last several years, so she’s pretty used.”
Last November, the Mississippi Arts Commission announced MLT would receive a $102,600 grant through the state’s Building Fund for the Arts grant during fiscal 2024 to help repair the theater’s roof and upgrade its lighting system.
McGehee said the project will mostly cover repairing the roof over the auditorium seating, ballroom and front part of the building, including the lobby. The grant also will allow MLT to upgrade its lighting system to a new LED system.
“The lighting system we have now is incandescent, which uses a lot of energy and is very warm,” she said. “The new LED lighting will be much more energy efficient and the temperature of the lights will not get as warm so it will be safer … for those involved in the productions.”
A study has shown that by switching to the more energy efficient LED lighting, the playhouse could save as much as $10,000 a year in utility costs, she said.
In order to receive the $102,600 grant, MLT has to come up with another $70,000 in matching funds, Freeman said, which is why the theater group is turning to the community for help.
“We are trying to think outside the box of things that we can offer the community that they will enjoy but also will support,” she said. “MLT survives on community support.”
As such, MLT is currently taking pre-orders for a smoked Boston butt fundraiser, called Super “Butt” Sunday, for those who want an easy meal to enjoy while watching the Super Bowl football game on Sunday, Feb. 11.
The smoked Boston butts will be hot and ready for drive-thru pickup between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. that Sunday in front of the playhouse, Broadhead said. The Boston butts, which cost $45 for one or $80 for two, are being smoked by Teresa Cranmore’s Something Southern Catering, the catering arm of Squealer’s Bar-B-Que.
The Boston butts can be pre-ordered by visiting the MLT website at meridianlittletheatre.com, by scanning the QR code on flyers posted around town or by calling the theater at 601-482-6371, she said. The deadline to order is Monday, Feb. 5.
MLT also has been selling T-shirts and sweatshirts, for $20 and $35 respectively, on its website and at this year’s shows. The apparel has received a lot of support so far, Freeman said.
“We wanted to just kind of re-brand ourselves and last year was the 90th season, so we pulled some old playbills and looked at old logos,” she said. “We have a retro design as kind of a nod to our history, but then we kind of went with a very classical MLT script logo that people are used to seeing.”
Anyone interested in purchasing a T-shirt or sweatshirt can visit the MLT website, meridianlittletheatre.com. The deadline for the next order of apparel is March 1.
MLT is planning other fundraisers this year to come up with the matching grant money, and donations from community residents who fondly remember watching a show over the years are also welcome, Freeman said.
“Our community is really a very giving community, so when they know there is a need, typically people step up and help when needed,” she said. “I think that the community just didn’t really know how bad a shape the building was in, so now that word has gotten out, we have had some people reach out to us to try and figure out ways they can help us out. We would love any of those opportunities of people saying, ‘Hey, how can we help?’ We typically don’t tell anyone no.”