Bird in Hand Stage opens the musical “Confessions” in Paradise at the temporary site of the former Revere Tavern while the theater and restaurant building on Old Philadelphia Pike is being repaired after a fire. Some logistical challenges will be faced.
The dinner theater will be relocated to the tavern building, while the Bird in Hand Family Restaurant & Smorgasbord's regular space on Old Philadelphia Pike is being rebuilt after a Jan. 30 fire.
But Bird in Hand stage manager Melissa Brown says the challenges of a temporary move are nothing the team can't handle.
“Right now, we're planning on staying in Libya until at least June,” Brown said. “So far, everything that has happened to move over there, we want to look at it as a challenge rather than a problem.
“The theaters will actually be about the same size,” Brown said. “The number of seats is the same (145) and the layout is very similar.
“One of the challenges with that is having to completely redesign the seating chart,” Brown says. “Normally you would greet everyone individually and escort them to their seats,” but that's not possible in Libya.
Additionally, the Bird in Hand venue has different levels of seating. However, in Revere, “everyone will be on the same level, but the stage will be higher. That means the audience will be looking up at the stage instead of looking down at it.”
“The stage is actually carpet, rather than a wood floor like most stages,” says Brown. “That's one of the curveballs we're dealing with. When you try to move a set that has wheels on carpet, it's a little harder to move.”
Furthermore, she says: “The width on stage has been reduced by about four feet, so it's a little less than the width of Bird in Hand, and there's a lot less room in the wings. So we had to completely redesign the set. There was. And some of the blocks would have to change as well.”
“Confessions” director Monica DePaul said “There's not a lot of behind-the-scenes space at Revere Tavern,” so the show's creative team decided to use backdrops and rooms that they would normally use to suggest the interior of the building. He added that it is not possible.
Brown said Revere's menu will be the same as Bird in Hand's.
“It's three separate rooms instead of one big room, but the food is the same,” Brown says. “We maintain a very similar menu to our traditional menu.”
The Revere Tavern building “has a lot of history, just like our building,” she says. “I think our guests will really love the historic feel of this tavern, and I think having them sit in a historic building will also help enhance the theme of the show.”
Brown said the owner of the Revere Tavern building first removed Bird in Hand staff after an unrelated Dec. 18 explosion that damaged part of the Bird in Hand Family Inn. It is said that he offered to provide the building.
“They reached out again after (the fire) to offer us space again,” Brown said.
“We’re just grateful to have that space and to be able to keep people employed,” DePaul said. “It’s such a blessing to find a place that’s just sitting there, waiting for people to live in it.”