Opening night at East Ridge theater

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The only thing missing at the opening of The Loft Theater at East Ridge High School, Sept. 12, was the red carpet at the Academy Awards.

Friends of Arts Connection, Woodbury Community Theater, East Metro Community Symphony Orchestra and East Ridge assembled for a night of food and entertainment to officially open the theater and celebrate the partnership of the four entities that will use it.

The night opened with appetizers, served by Tinucci’s Restaurant and Catering (also an Arts Connection donor), accompanied by punch served up in a fountain and panoramic views from the school’s many windows.

An orchestra ensemble provided music.

Michelle Witte, Woodbury Community Theater president, Dan Mathews, Arts Connection president, Paul Youngquist, school architect, Principal Aaron Harper, Katie Tinucci, Eric Levinson, and Chris Tank, vocal music director gave opening remarks.

After the ribbon-cutting for the theater, the school’s band played the school song from a second floor mezzanine just above the theater’s entrances.

After the opening, patrons were treated to a performances of “The Best of Gilbert and Sullivan” and “Trial by Jury,” another Gilbert and Sullivan musical skit; both performed by the Woodbury Community Theater, accompanied by Patrick Healy, a internationally recognized authority on the work of Gilbert and Sullivan and a native of Ireland.

Following the performances, cupcakes were served.

For more pictures of the opening, see the Sept. 16 print edition of the South Washington County Bulletin.

Tags: school district 833, local news, education, woodbury, theater