St. Pete City Theatre gets new roof after Hurricane Milton hours before ‘White Christmas’ performance
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - At the St. Petersburg City Theatre, a new roof was completed mere hours before opening night of "White Christmas The Musical."
"I might have been manifesting a little bit. I really believed that we would find a way to make this happen," said Stefanie Lehmann, the board president for the St. Petersburg City Theatre.
Hurricane Milton destroyed much of the roof of the community theatre, but thankfully, rehearsals and other events were held in other parts of the building. "Peter Pan Jr." was moved to Gibbs High School last month. For the last two months, "White Christmas" has been the target for the re-opening of the main stage.
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"This is the heart of the theatre," Lehmann explained.
The community pitched in with cleanups and fundraisers, including a big one from St. Paul Catholic School Theatre Troupe #89390. Many of the kids have participated in shows at the theatre, as well as their teacher, Vaughn Wassmer.
"Just had the idea, maybe it'll be some small thing we can do to raise some money. I just put out something on social media. Just said, ‘come if you can, please donate what you can,’ and we've raised a lot more than I ever thought we would," Wassmer said. "I'm so glad we were able to just because this place is very special to me. It's like a second home, and I just wanted to make sure to do as much as I could for it."
The troupe raised $6,000. The kids sat up close on opening night, cheering for Wassmer, who played multiple roles in the musical.
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"It was definitely even more emotional, because it just felt that we worked so hard to get to this point and so many things got in our way," Wassmer said.
That emotion was shared by all the cast members, especially during vocal warmups just prior to the curtain raising.
"In a way, this one felt a little bit more important to the community overall, just knowing how much devastation the area has seen," performer Taylor Landau said. "I think that there's this sense among the cast to try and bring some holiday cheer to people who probably really need it right now."
Fueled by a loud and supportive crowd, the show whisked the audience away for 2.5 hours.
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"I think it was really emotional for a lot of people to know we did it, we got here, and we will continue keeping our doors open for as long as we can," Lehmann said.
Moving forward, the theatre still needs help. While the fundraisers helped pay for the roof, the remaining cost depleted the savings that were meant to go to updating audio and lighting equipment in preparation for the theatre’s 100th anniversary next year.
Performers say a big way to support is to attend or even join a performance. "White Christmas" will have three more shows from Dec. 20-22. For more information, visit spcitytheatre.org.
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