Theater gets donation to save historic seats

GENOA – Plans to scrap a set of vintage theater seats were changed when an anonymous donor gave the Genoa Civic Theatre several yards of upholstery fabric to refurbish them.

The seats are being given new life by theater volunteers.

The 14 chairs had been in use in the back row of the theater for years, even though they were in poor condition.

“For some people, it’s their favorite seats,” theater member Donna Wollenslegel said. “That’s why we hated to get rid of them.”

Because of the theater’s limited budget, reupholstering the seats wasn’t an option until the donation was made.

“We were thinking of getting rid of them; then a friend of mine donated 15¹/₂ yards of very expensive upholstery,” theater member Griff Allen said. “That sealed the deal.”

Allen said the theater’s charter with the village dictates that the building’s interior be kept to a specific color scheme. Not only does the upholstery fall into that scheme, but it also is a very close match to the theater seats’ current upholstery.

“It’s so amazing that the color is so close to what we had before,” Wollenslegel said.

Tearing apart the chairs provided an interesting discovery of the chairs’ history. The members have found small clues that are giving them hints to the seats’ age.

It is obvious to the members that the chairs have been reupholstered more than once, as they are finding different materials within the layers.

“We think the chairs came from a Toledo theater,” Allen said. “I think they are at least from the ’20s or ’30s, but I think they might be 100 years old.”

When the chairs were disassembled, small bits of burgundy-colored oil cloth could be seen peeking out from around nail heads.

“That’s what makes me think turn-of-the-century,” Allen said.

Old cotton batting was found in the chairs, and Wollenslegel suspects it was used through multiple re-coverings.

“I think it’s been passed around from generation to generation,” she said. “They were probably in the same situation we’re in. They didn’t have much money for the project.”

The volunteers will reuse much of the batting to stuff the chairs, and they also will reuse something else they found inside of them — straw. It, too, had been used to stuff the seats’ cushions.

“We’re reusing the straw,” Wollenslegel said. “There’s no odor. It was sealed in.”

Although the seats need a lot of work, they weren’t quite as bad as Allen had anticipated.

“They were in better shape than I thought they’d be,” he said. “Once they’re done, I think they’ll be good for another 100 years.”

Four of the chairs are finished, and Allen hopes to get the rest done sometime this summer. The theater’s next production is “Little Shop of Horrors,” scheduled for Friday through Sunday and May 8 to 10.