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| The Schmee: Some months ago (photo Dave Hastings) |
Revered theater, Theater Schmeater, lived in a basement
under Brocklind’s Costumes from 1992 until last year. Brocklind was a
benevolent upstairs neighbor and was closed at night and on weekends, so that
partnership worked for many years, despite support columns in the middle of
stage space, lack of ceiling height, concrete sound-bounce, and lack of
adequate heating and cooling.
The Schmee made it as cozy as possible, adding a unique
lobby area, a bar, and smart technical people who overcame much of the
challenge of staging in that space. It was similar to other Capitol Hill
locations that grew around available empty spaces, many underground. But that
all changed when Brocklind’s closed and the building was sold.
Roger Huston, managing director since August 2012, continues
the narrative, “The new owners, Hunters Capital, entered into an agreement for
a restaurant to occupy the first floor. It
would not be practical to install sound insulation under the already-low
basement ceiling (in a 100 year old, uninsulated building) and would no longer
be practical to use the basement for theater.”