Venture down to Playhouse Square on Sept. 28, and you may see it in an entirely new light.
The glow comes from the Square’s Marquee Moments event — illuminating the new exterior entrances to the theaters in a display CEO and President Craig Hassall likens to Times Square, with even better architecture to compliment.
“I don't mean to offend Times Square, although I kind of do,” he says. “Buildings at Times Square are not remarkable buildings. So, as a result, they're wrapped in massive screens and the screens become the heroes. … The streetscape of Cleveland is quite magnificent, which is why it's used for so many movies and commercials and various things. We didn't want to hide the streetscape. In fact, the marquees celebrate the streetscape and lift it up.”
The project, projected at $10.2 million, took less than a year to complete after its announcement last October. To make it happen, Playhouse Square enlisted the help of The Barnycz Group, the design firm behind the GE Chandelier and similar work in Times Square and Las Vegas.
Upon completion, the Square will feature bold, bright new marquees — a slightly different design for each theater — that take inspiration from each building’s interior quirks while maintaining a sense of cohesion, Hassall says.
And, he adds, the new digital lighting and video displays will set Playhouse Square apart from all other theaters in the country.
“It's an outdoor, high-brightness LED display, which is being used in all the marquees as well,” he says. “And we're the first place to use them in the world, which is amazing.”
Utilizing the updated technology, each marquee and accompanying video screens — truly like a small-scale Times Square — will have the opportunity to change themes based on current productions, local events and whatever else the community might come up with.
Picture Euclid Avenue in green as Wicked tours through town. Or brilliant Cavaliers colors after a playoff win.
The Marquee Moments event at the end of the month will show off the new potential of the marquees as a free community event. Entertainment includes a performance from Emmy-winner Andy Grammar, local musicians and a finale illumination at the end of the night.
A new lighting rig, unseen by those on the street, will strobe on the chandelier making it “twinkle for the first time,” Hassall says.
After the official unveiling, the Playhouse Square president is excited to see Euclid Avenue rival that of any city’s main corridor.
“The marquees that we're replacing are not the original marquees,” Hassall explains, “and they've been upgraded every 20 or 30 years since the theaters were built in the 1920s. The overall [new marquee] design is consistent … gold that matches the chandelier and the gateways. So, it sort of ties the whole district together for the first time, which is pretty cool.”
