northern colorado to see construction of new theater

In a section of Colorado that has long supported live theater, plans are underway for the construction of a new theater that will house up to 800 seats.

The two-story project will go up on an empty lot in midtown Fort Collins in the 400 block of S. Mason Street, and will include a massive glass-walled lobby, and two upper floor outdoor decks.

The project will belong to the Candlelight Dinner Playhouse, which is currently located in nearby Johnstown.

Design plans for what is being called the Boardwalk by Candlelight have already been submitted to the City of Fort Collins, with hopes that work on the new theater could launch sometime next spring.

As proposed, the new theater will also be the home to an acting, dancing, and singing school called The Academy by Diva Bee Productions.

If all goes according to plans, the new $10 million theater will be completed and open for business in the summer of 2021. 

The long-standing Candlelight Dinner Playhouse in Johnstown, which houses up to 350 seats, was built in 2008 at a cost of $6.2 million and every year stages up to half a dozen Broadway-caliber musical plays.

By Garry Boulard