Hope is said to spring eternal.
My hope is that in the near future my knees will not be in my face when i attend Riverview Theatre.
Like all the other art patrons who sat on the ground floor of the newly remodeled theatre last fall, i went home disappointed. No, extremely disappointed in the new seating arrangement.
The remodeling effort included complaince with the Americans with Disabilities Act, new seats, expanded/renovated restrooms. and other creature comforts.
The problem was that to maintain the same number of ground floor seats, the distance between the rows was reduced.
As a result it became nearly impossible to move down a row of seats in front of sitting patrons. In most instances, entire rows of patrons had to empty out to allow persons to either get to a middle seat.
On top of that, most patrons left with bruises on their knees that were jammed against the back of the seats in front of them
To say this seating jam on the first floor distracted tremendously from the enjoyment of artisitc performances is an understatement, to say the least.
Like magic, a white knight has appeared to rectify the seat/knee crunch.
An anonymous donor has offered to pay the cost of relocating the ground-floor seats to provide much-needed spacing between the rows. Hurrah!
A revised seating layout from the seating manufacturer has been requested.
Architect Kevin Byrant is waiting for a reply with the arrangement, seat count and costs.
Bryant noted that, due to the Covid pandemic -- or the Covid excuse -- nothing in manufacturing, shipping, delivery, etc is going smoothly or quickly at the present time.
Since a more comfortable seating will involve the loss of seats on the first floor, any revision will need to be approved by the users of Riverview Theatre -- the Shreveport Symphony, the Shreveport Opera and others.
Since sellouts are rare, this should not be a problem. These groups need “butts in the seats” and without more creature comforts this is not likely.
Thus, relief MAY be on the way. Hopefully by early next year.
The next two opera events at Riverview next month will feature social distancing--and cramped knee row. But there will be more room to stretch out legs in front of empty seats!
THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED IN THE October 23 ISSUE OF FOCUS SB - THE INQUISITOR.
John came to Shreveport in January of 1977 when he was transferred to Barksdale AFB.
He’s been active in Shreveport politics since deciding to make Shreveport his home.
John practiced law for 40 years and he now monitors local politics. He regularly attends Shreveport City Council and Caddo Parish Commission meetings.
John is published weekly in The Inquisitor, bi-monthly in The Forum News, and frequently in the Shreveport Times.
He enjoys addressing civic groups on local government issues and elections.