Commerce Street Theater takes over the historic space of downtown Lynchburg

LYNCHBURG, Va. (WDBJ) – What once housed the Lynchburg Renaissance Theater has changed.

A new sign put up on Wednesday shows Commerce street theater invaded space.

Signs in its windows tell people it’s open.

“There was a whole bunch of us who loved this space and we didn’t want to see it get lost,” said Bill Bodine, Chairman of the Board of Commerce Street Theater. “So we all got together and decided to just make it happen.”

Bodine says that a little cleaning and painting brought the historic space back to life.

The organization also hopes to turn new heads with more diverse events.

“It’s going to be different because we’re going to keep doing shows and plays like we do, but we’re also going to expand a bit,” Bodine said. “We can have concerts, people coming to play guitar or that sort of thing, so we’re going to do different things. We can have a few comedy shows here, so just something that will appeal to more people. “

They are also looking to fill some of the theater seats in the coming weeks and months.

They say coronavirus precautions will be taken, but don’t want those to take away from a thriving arts community.

“What we want to do is help make it a true Mecca for the arts… so what we’re trying to do is provide yet another space for people to come and take advantage of the different arts organizations that we have in Lynchburg. “said Bodine.

The first show for the theater will be on Friday evening.

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