Venice Theatre Ravaged By Hurricane Ian, All Events Suspended

VENICE, FL — When Hurricane Ian slammed into Southwest Florida as a powerful Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, a Sarasota County cultural icon was destroyed.

The Venice Theatre at 140 Tampa Ave. W. in Venice lost the roof of one of its three buildings, a photo shared to its Facebook page shows.

“Due to the devasting impact and damage from Hurricane Ian, Venice Theatre is suspending all activity until further notice,” the venue shared on its Facebook page. “We will be making announcements as soon as we have more information. Thank you for your calls and messages of support. With the help of our community, we will be back stronger than ever!”

• Stay up-to-date by viewing all Hurricane Ian coverage on Patch here.

Ahead of the storm, the theater closed its three-building campus Tuesday and initially thought it could reopen by Thursday. It also canceled all rehearsals, classes and performances of “The Revolutionists.”

"We will assess the damage, look at our assets here, the three buildings, while we are recovering, but it’s just too early to know the extent until we can actually have the professionals on site and the first responders," Murray Chase, the theater’s executive theater, told Fox 13.

Initially called the Venice Little Theatre, its first production took the stage in the 1950s in a borrowed building and had no paid staff, according to its website. It operated entirely on volunteer power and revenue from its $2 ticket sales.

Decades later, Venice Theater is, per capita, the largest community theater in the United State with an operating budget of nearly $4 million.

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