Odeum Opening Concert Set For Saturday, Jan. 26

Main Street has a theater again: , the culmination of more than three years' effort.

The celebratory event will feature acts including local favorites singer Phoebe Madden and flutist Skip Healy as well as trumpeter Ritchee Price, longtime lead trumpeter for Lionel Hampton, and others from around Rhode Island.

Strict fire regulations put in place after the 2003 Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick killed 100 people led to the Odeum's closure in 2007.

The town's decision to put the Odeum back on the property tax rolls in 2009 kickstarted efforts to reopen the theater. While in operation, the nonprofit corporation had been exempt from property taxes.

A loosening of the fire code in 2010 provided additional motivation to reopen the theater, since suddenly the amount of money needed to be in fire code compliance was significantly less.

The Odeum Corporation's expanded its board of directors. In December 2011, the theater received $141,600 from the Champlin Foundations. Since then, the all the seats in the theater have been recovered, the main floor has been redone, and fire sprinklers have been installed over the stage, as well as a host of smaller renovations. A gala fundraiser at the theater in December marked the first time it had hosted anything since 2007.

The event will feature several performers, who range from gospel singers to jazz and Broadway tunes:

• Ritchee Price – Nine years with Lionel Hampton, lead trumpet player; national drum and bugle corps hall of fame
• Phoebe Madden – Trained on Broadway, performs regionally and locally, released two albums
• Skip Healy – Grammy nominated fife and flute performer, has played on over 40 recordings.
• Chris Jason (as Frank Sinatra) – Chris Jason is considered to be one the best interpreters of "The Chairman Of The Board" on the east coast.
• Mixed Magic – Based in Pawtucket, Mixed Magic Theatre was founded in 2000 to bring diverse stories and images to the stage through prose and song.
• Refined 313 – Sisters Angel, Melody and Ros perform soulful gospel music, accompanied by their full band.
• Larry Brown’s Swinglane Orchestra – Popular 16 piece Swinglane Orchestra, performing big band and jazz music throughout the area.

Upcoming shows include:

• Legendary Jazz Saxophonist Phil Woods, a four-time Grammy winner and three time nominee, joins the Greg Abate Quartet for an exciting night of exceptional jazz on Saturday, Feb. 9.
• Chris Jason brings “Sinatra at the Sands 1966 Revisited” Feb. 16.
• The music of Enrique Garzilli, Feb. 22-23.
• America’s favorite Celtic Group, Cherish the Ladies, Sunday, March 10.
• Cleveland Signstage Theater’s production of the “Ugly Duckling,” a brilliant children’s performance group, Sunday, April 14.

Tickets for the opening and other events can be purchased online by visiting the Odeum’s Web Site at www.theodeum.org, or by calling 401-885-4000.