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"What can I say except wow!" exclaimed former Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz at the reopening of the gloriously renovated Kings Theatre in the nostalgic Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. "Brooklyn now has its Beacon and its Apollo Theater all in one." The ribbon cutting ceremony for the $95 million project that took nearly two years to restore took place on Fri., Jan. 23 and was attended by local officials and VIPs. " Today marks a milestone for the Flatbush community," remarked Deputy Mayor Alicia Glen.
The historic Kings Theatre has been restored to its luminous opulence and will celebrate its grand opening with an elaborate opening night concert featuring Ms. Fabulosity herself, Diana Ross, on Tues., Feb. 3, 2015. Billed "An Evening with Diana Ross" the inaugural concert is already sold out. Following the concert, there will be free open house with tours of the restored structure on Sat., Feb. 7, 2015. The showy showplace will offer "a wide spectrum of programming from local, national and international performing artists," with more than 200 performances annually.
Built in 1929 and inspired by the Palace of Versailles and the Paris Opera House, the Kings Theatre closed in 1977 and was acquired by the city in 1983. The renovation was closely supervised to make certain that the palace's grand flourishes were left untouched including its original fixtures like chandeliers; restored and new carpets; and tapestries and curtains - based on archival photographs and remnants, designs.
"The Kings Theatre is now once again an integral part of this community, after being lost to the City for so long. We are so proud to welcome New Yorkers back to the Kings and we thank the community for its incredible support of the revitalization project. It is our hope that everyone will join us as we celebrate the historic reopening and embark on...