Paramount Theatre Welcomes Back In-Person Audiences
WDCB’s Gary Zidek visits the Paramount Theatre in Aurora to talk with the company’s president & CEO Tim Rater about reopening after being dark for over a year.
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“The last thing we can do is be closed for another 524 days. We just can’t do that, it’s not possible. So, this is how we feel we can open, we feel that it’s the best shot we have, and that’s the reason we’re going in the direction (that) we’re going”. - Paramount Theatre president & CEO Tim Rater talking about the precautions being taken to ensure is able to say open after being dark for a year-and-a-half.
Inside of the historic Paramount Theatre
It’s been over 500 day since the curtain last raised at the Paramount Theater in downtown Aurora. Like arts presenters all over the country, the historic west suburban theater was forced to shut down in March of 2020 as cases of COVID-19 ramped up. Almost a year and a half later, the Paramount is welcoming in-person audiences back to the theater with 7-week run of the musical, KINKY BOOTS.
Even as theaters welcome patrons back, rising COVID metrics are forcing them to implement policies regarding masks and vaccination status. The Paramount announced its requiring proof of vaccination for all audience members coming to see KINKY BOOTS (with some allowances for children under 12 and people with medical or religious exemptions). The decision, which wasn’t made lightly, has been praised by many and criticized by some. It’s a situation that has been and will be playing out at performing arts venues all over the country.
The Paramount Theatre’s production KINKT BOOTS opened on August 27
“I really have to focus on where we’re going to be eventually, and I don’t know if it’s eventually 2 years or 10 years. The Paramount turns 100 years old in ten years, and so, we’re starting to thinking about what will we look like when we’re 10 years down the road. And sometimes that’s how far I need to go, how far we need to go. Because in 10 years downtown Aurora has already transformed with the resurgence of the arts down here, and (what) the city has brought as far as development. In just another 10 years, it’s going to be an entertainment district.” - Paramount president & CEO Tim Rater talking about his long-term planning efforts.
The Copley Theatre is in the North Island Center across the street from the Paramount Theatre
