IN THEIR OWN WORDS
“When Theatre Network’s new Roxy Theatre rises on 124 Street again, this much is true: a great theatre will be built where great theatre will be staged.
It was in 1989 that the ROXY movie theatre became the full-time home for Theatre Network’s live theatre. It was also, if memory serves correctly, the year of the production of One Beautiful Evening, the show that hooked us into becoming Theatre Network fans. For us, it was one theatre adventure after another, some productions thought-provoking and challenging, some, comedic delights.
Over the years, by my count, that makes over 100 masterful productions that were eagerly attended.
With the fire in January 2015, the big bright yellow, long- lived and much loved ROXY sign was gone and 124 Street’s glimmer dimmed a bit. After a bit of “stage wrangling” courtesy of Edmonton’s generous and close-knit theatre community, Theatre Network, undaunted, settled into the Roxy on Gateway, the very hot venue with the very cool seating. Still, the award-winning productions kept coming and so did the audiences. All was good. Yay!
In June 2019, things got even better. Back on 124 Street, the ground-breaking for the new Roxy Theatre took place, heralding the construction of not one but two theatre spaces, generous lobbies, technologically advanced production capabilities, and even a grand washroom guaranteed to ‘wow’ everyone. The raising of the iconic ROXY sign again on 124 Street will announce the presence of a brand-spanking new home; the Theatre Network presence will remain the same, that of continuing to produce dynamic, important, insightful, and exciting live theatre in Edmonton.
Looking back at the many years of productions like Mump and Smoot, Thunderstick, Let the Light of Day Through, Armstrong’s War, Metis Mutt, it becomes obvious why wholehearted and unreserved support for Theatre Network and the Capital Campaign to rebuild the Roxy is so important. For those of us with the urge to see live theatre coursing through our veins, it is an honour.”
