Work is in full swing, converting the historic Emery Theater on Walnut Street in Over-the-Rhine into a state-of-the-art home for the Children's Theatre of Cincinnati. The $51.5 million renovation is on budget and on time for a scheduled opening this fall, according to theatre officials.
"We are in the home stretch. It doesn't feel like it because there's construction going on and the dust is still settling, but in October we will be raising the curtain on the Emery once more," says Roderick Justice, artistic director.
The theater will seat around 1,500 patrons once completed. The original space could accommodate around 2,000, but that included bench seating in the balcony, which has been replaced with theater seats.
Justice says the project budget remains in good shape for now. Most all of the materials were purchased prior to the Trump administration's tariff increases.
The Children's Theatre purchased the Emery Theater in 2023, and construction began in February 2024 to convert the neglected space into a modern theater. It will be a bit of a homecoming as the Children's Theatre performed in the Emery Theater from 1919 — when it first began as the Schuster-Martin School of Drama, later known as the Junior League Players — to 1969.
The company's first show in the renovated space will be The Wizard of Oz. It's slated to run October 10-26.
"We chose The Wizard of Oz very specifically because the Children's Theatre of Cincinnati, 105 years ago, was performing in the Emery with the oldest children's theater in the country, and this was our home," says Justice. "So, 'there's no place like home.' "
Justice adds that one of the earliest photos the theatre has is from a production of The Wizard of Oz inside the Emery.
"It's from 1925, so it's exactly 100 years ago that The Wizard of Oz was taking the stage here, and we get to bring it back to life," he says, smiling.
Old space, new tech
The Children's Theatre of Cincinnati bills itself as the oldest professional theater for young audiences in the country. Its new stage, however, will be cutting edge. It includes a 20-foot-square turntable lift enclosed with a trapdoor that is the largest in the country, according to the installers.
"We excavated close to 16 feet into the earth under the basement," Justice says, to accommodate the lift.
"It is the largest and first installation of a turntable with sliding lids over a trap in any theater in the country," adds President and CEO Kim Kern.
Additionally, the combination of other technology elements included in the reconstruction will make it the most technologically advanced proscenium-style theater in the U.S., according to Tom Neville, an expert on theater infrastructure with Apeiro Design.
The sound should be excellent, too. The Emery Theater has long been hailed for its brilliant, near perfect acoustics and unobstructed sight lines. While the auditorium's acoustics are designed for orchestral performances, they weren't ideal for theater. Some adjustments have been made to improve the sound for theater-goers. However, the architects note they are surface improvements that can be removed to return the space to its original acoustical design.
Several new elevators have also been added to ensure the entire auditorium is accessible to all patrons.
Unexpected finds
It seems like there's always something unusual to be found when renovating old buildings. Justice says there haven't been many surprises, though there were a few.
"Under the orchestra level, when they were driving a genie lift, they opened up a small hole and there was an old cistern well that was completely dry. So that's good news, that there's not sitting water in there, but it was interesting," he says.
Crews also found a rolling pocket door that had been enclosed at some point in history. Much like in a topping out ceremony on new construction, crew members took turns signing the pocket door, leaving hidden messages for some future construction crew. The door will be covered back up, but Justice calls it, "our little time capsule."
About the Emery Theater
The auditorium, located at Walnut Street and Central Parkway, was commissioned by Mary Emery and built by the famous architecture firm Samuel Hannaford & Sons in 1911, with acoustical design inspired by Adler & Sullivan's Auditorium Theatre. It opened in January 1912. It was originally the auditorium for a trade school, the Ohio Mechanic Institute.
The auditorium was hailed for its near perfect acoustics and unobstructed sight lines. It has been home to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and hosted numerous famed performers including Bette Davis, dancer Anna Pavlova, and composer George Gershwin, who played his famous "Rhapsody in Blue" there with the CSO shortly after its New York debut. Eleanor Roosevelt and the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are among other dignitaries to have graced the Emery's stage.
Over the years, the theater fell into disrepair. Previous attempts to purchase, rent or rehabilitate the space weren't successful.
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