Grand Prairie’s Uptown Theater opens its doors on a new era

by Kirk Dickey of Grand Prairie TODAY

After years in the making, Grand Prairie residents got their first look at the renovated Uptown Theater, Nov. 8.

And the reviews were good. Guests at the theater's opening night concert talked adoringly about the mix of old and new that designer Killis Almond put into the project, while retaining much of the “feel” of the original Uptown.

Residents who'd spent their youth in The Uptown noted the original “cloud” ceiling and an original bench set into the wall at the theater's entrance. The reception area uses original brick uncovered during construction. And a painted mural from the 1900s adorns one wall near the black box theater just off of the main theater.

The project was more than a restoration, though, and the theater now serves 400 in auditorium-style seating, including eight loveseats. The theater's stage has been expanded and revamped as a home to plays, as well as concerts and movies. An orchestra pit sits before the stage and modern lighting and sound systems make the theater an attractive venue for all types of entertainers. A food preparation area and concession stand add to the offerings.

But for all of the changes and additions, guests at the opening night reception continued to relate the new theater with the old.

“I want to jump up and down and say ‘Welcome to The Uptown Theater. It's back,'” Donna Easterling, the former owner, said.

Easterling sold the theater to the city of Grand Prairie in 2005 in the hopes that it could revamp it and continue the tradition her family had started in the 1950s. The theater had been a first-run movie house with 1,100 seats and a small stage for performances.

Easterling said she can remember putting on kids shows and hosting battles of the bands on the old stage. Eventually, though, the theater got unwieldy to maintain. And Easterling said she made the right choice in selling to the city.

“No private individual could have done what the city is doing,” she said.

Mayor Charles England, who worked delivering playbills for The Uptown as a teenager said, “It's a beautiful theater. We couldn't be more proud.”

England thanked all the people who had a hand in bringing the theater back to life, including Managing Director Elspeth McDonald, who will oversee the theater's first season, including performances by Asleep at the Wheel, Three Redneck Tenors and a production of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hits. McDonald also announced a special New Year's Eve concert by Asleep at the Wheel, for which tickets are now on sale.

McDonald was overwhelmed by peoples' reactions to the theater.

“People seemed to be reminiscing about the old Uptown while they were enjoying it in its newest incarnation,” she said. “For me, it's been about trying to honor the past and its history and those memories that people have about it, while bringing it forward into the 21st century.”

Judging from the crowd's reaction on opening night, the city just might be ready to move along with the theater.

“We just have such wonderful memories of the old place,” Mayor Pro Tem Ruthe Jackson said. “And we are going to have wonderful memories of this new place.”

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