Elmwood Playhouse Announces Biggest “Production” Yet

It seems everywhere we look, Rockland is undergoing renovations. From West Nyack Road to Pearl River Library to the new Chick-fil-A, the Rockland area is certainly having a makeover.

Fresh on the list of Rockland updates is county mainstay Elmwood Playhouse. In March of 2025, the town of Nyack received a whopping 4.5 million dollar grant from the state of New York as part of the “New York Forward” initiative, created under Governor Hochul. This program was created to support the revitalization of small New York downtowns, and while several towns applied Nyack and Dobbs Ferry were the winners of the Mid-Hudson Round Three applications.

Elmwood Playhouse has applied for a portion of the 4.5 million dollar grant to assist in their own much needed revitalizations. While the inside of the theater has some of the most creative sets and costumes around, regularly boasting sold out shows (don’t even think about buying a Sunday matinee ticket less than three weeks in advance), the outside fails to live up to the spectacle put on inside.

There are two main sections to the theater’s grant application – the physical building and the technology, with both sections having a major focus on accessibility.

The side of the theater facing New Street wrapping all the way around to the Sorkin Rehearsal Studio and the scenic shop is covered in warped wooden siding. The siding was placed over stucco as a “temporary fix” in 2016. Almost a decade later, that “temporary fix” is struggling to hold together. Elmwood wants to remove it entirely, along with the stucco underneath.

Once the siding and stucco are removed and replaced, Elmwood hopes to create a mural (pictured below) depicting the inner vitality of the space, providing a warm welcome to visitors and Rocklanders alike.

With this new siding, the playhouse has also applied to replace the final of the complex’s three roofs. Until the roof is replaced,  the playhouse will continue being  unable to add air conditioning or heat to this section of the building. This has left costume designers, set designers, stage managers and lighting and sound technicians struggling in extreme temperatures with no relief. These temperatures can become dangerous for older adults or for those whose bodies struggle to regulate temperature.

Obsolete technology has also become a barrier for the theater in attracting new designers and in keeping their current ones. The current lighting board is a decade old, and the sound system’s most recent update took place so long ago it has been lost to memory. The ability to attract new lighting and sound designers are slim to none due to the fact that a majority of designers have zero experience with the outdated equipment and most have no desire to undergo the training needed to understand it, having already been trained on current technology.

The technology is utilized from the highest part of the theater, an area that is also lacking A/C and heat, and requires a set of stairs to access. With an updated lighting and sound system, designers would be able to work wirelessly, eliminating the need to climb stairs or to sit in potentially unsafe temperatures. These issues have left the theater strapped for designers and with no way to attract new ones, as well as creating barriers to designers with accessibility challenges.

Stay tuned to see what the town of Nyack and the State approve on Elmwood’s wishlist. Go to elmwoodplayhouse.com to learn more about the theatre.