By Emily Santoro
The Newburgh waterfront has been on the up for years now. Beautiful bars, delicious restaurants and fun clubs line the waterway in a vacation-like state, but something has been missing … more varied entertainment.
This is where Jen and Seth Soloway, co-founders of the Railroad Playhouse, come into play.
The Railroad Playhouse, with an expected launch date in late October, will be the new home of local arts entertainment. Located on South Water Street in Newburgh, the playhouse will occupy the main floor of the once-abandoned brick railroad station that has been restored by local builder Ray Yannone. This historical building will house a grand lobby along with food café called Pizza Shop, a bar, and outdoor patio.
Once attendees are inside the lobby they walk into the venue space which will seat up to 99 people. The breathtaking high ceilings, large classic windows and wood floors will be sure to bring out the masses. An even more appealing aspect is the venue’s non-fixed seating plan. This plan seats the audience and stage in different places, designing the room around the show and making no audience experience alike.
A film screening and tour next Sunday will benefit the theatre.
The Railroad Playhouse will strive to provide a home for playwrights to workshop and showcase new plays; present local, national, and international artists of all genres, implement a summer arts camp for local children, and create teaching-artist residencies in local schools.
Since they were students at DePaul University and Marymount Manhattan College, Jen and Seth, knew that they wanted to open their own venue. While working in New York City where they worked off-Broadway to develop an understanding of booking and promotion, the two began looking for a place to makes that dream a reality. After some tough searching, the old train station came up and they knew immediately that this was the place. They left New York City behind and moved to the area to pursue their vision.
With more possibilities than just a home for performing arts, the Railroad Playhouse will be open to local college and school practices and functions, along with community activities.
Ritz Theatre director Tricia Haggerty Wenz talks with Jen and Seth about how the two theatres can create a theatre district in Newburgh.
“We don’t just want to be in the community, we want to be a part of the community coming together” said Seth while talking about the need for a place like the playhouse in Newburgh. “There are so many bars and restaurants to go to down here, but that can only take you so far. There needs to be a place that ties all of those together and gives people a reason to come here from all over. The playhouse is that place.”
The Railroad Playhouse will host a screening of Sherlock Holmes’ film Terror by Night next Sunday, September 26, at the Downing Film Center. The screening will benefit the playhouse and will be followed by a tour of the theatre and a Q & A with Jen and Seth.
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