There is a magical moment at the beginning of a Broadway show as the lights fade down, the sound fades in and the beloved red curtain is raised to reveal a place the audience has never been before.   The physical movement of that velvet fabric acts as an entrance into an unknown world and a reverent hush usually washes through the house, as people leave their current realities and settle in for an evening of theatre.

No one ever said that a smaller theatre shouldn’t have the same ability at its disposal, but due to size and budget, most 99 seat theatre sets are robbed of this border between reality and fantasy.   The audience checks out the set as they find their seats and chat with their friends over the pre-show music.   The door to the world of the play is relegated to a dimming of house lights and raising of stage lights.

No longer for Company of Angels. The beautiful red velvet curtain scalloped above our stage and echoed in the theatre entrance and concession areas provides a classy uniformity and flow that we didn’t have before. What magical theatre elves are responsible for this creation? It all started with Mike Danyleiko and a recognizable musician who wanted to remain anonymous.

A friend of Mike’s, Robert Bejgrowicz knows this musician quite well. During lunch one day, Robert mentioned to Mike that he knew someone looking to sell some curtains. Mike took initiative and brought all the pertinent information to Tony.

These were flame retardant, deep red velour stage curtains totaling 995 square feet, including four 20' X 4' wings, one 20' X 10' drop, one 20' X 20' drop and one proscenium skirt 2'6" X 30' W. Price: $300, even though the material alone was worth well over $1,000. They were also professionally made for this musician's tour. As Tony began to drool, he and Mike discussed how COA could transform these curtains to fit our needs. And even though $300 was a steal, COA still did not have the money to purchase them. Mike came up with a solution: offer a $175 check and a $300 donation receipt. The musician, an artist and therefore one to support other artists, wanted the curtains to go someplace that could really use them and so accepted Mike’s offer. With Robert’s help, Mike loaded up his truck and brought the curtains to COA.

Once the fabric was in the theatre, some very dedicated hands took a hold of it and went to work.   Stacy Raposa was the head seamstress, while the hanging, cutting, pinning and sewing was done by Andrew Thompson, Ben Anton, Lauren Gasparo, Tony Gatto and Mike Danyleiko.   A special thanks to Dean Cleverdon who built the track that raises and lowers the curtain.   Working together, these folks achieved an elegant goal in a mere 24 hours.   Their efforts are recognized and saluted every time the curtain rises on a COA production, right through it’s ending bows.