Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, many arts organization are rethinking their 2020-21 seasons. The Maltz Jupiter Theatre has made the decision to postpone its upcoming season and dedicate the year instead to a $30 million expansion project.
The Maltz, which is beloved locally and lauded nationally for its top-quality productions, will break ground this month on expansions that are expected to take 13 months to complete. The theater will reopen in October 2021 with Agatha Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express.
Designed by Oscar Garcia in tandem with Currie Sowards Aguila Architects, the new Maltz will include a Broadway-style stage that will allow the Maltz to host pre-Broadway and national tour development productions; three floors of production facilities; a new dining experience; an expanded performing arts conservatory and lobby; a redesigned entrance; and a second theater space.
Andrew Kato, the Maltz’s producing artistic director and chief executive, noted in a statement that when it became clear that the theater would not be able to stage a 2020-21 season under current health concerns, they decided to make productive use of the downtime in order to create this dream space. “Completing the work now will ensure that we can come back stronger than ever when we reopen, and this expansion is bringing us even closer to reaching our goals of producing the next Broadway-bound play or musical right here in South Florida,” says Kato.
While the Maltz has been forced to furlough 80 percent of its staff due to COVID-19, the expansion project is estimated to generate 100 jobs over the coming year.
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