PEORIA – The stage of the Apollo Theatre has sat dark for a number of years.
Jolene Howard hopes to bring the historic Peoria venue back to life.
Formerly from Colorado, she and her husband moved to the area to be closer to their son, who works for the Peoria Fire Department. Along with this, they toured the theater during a visit and saw “so much potential and opportunity in that space.”
“That’s another reason that we were like, ‘OK, we’ve got to go to Peoria,’” she said. “This could be amazing.”
Howard has long had a passion for the performing arts. She got involved in productions at just 5 years old and went on to earn a degree in musical theater.
She and her husband, Craig, have already established Upstage Theatre Company in Downtown Peoria. Their goal, she said, is to offer family friendly melodramas with music, comedy and food.
“That is really the ideal theater genre for me and my husband,” Howard said.
Currently, the company operates out of the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial Hall, or GAR Hall, at 416 Hamilton Blvd. in Downtown Peoria. The goal, however, is to eventually move Upstage Theatre Company to the Apollo.
“I’d like to own our own theater versus rent …” Howard said. “The GAR is historical too, so I don’t want to change a whole lot knowing that, you know, we’re just renting.”
Originally opened in May 1914, the Apollo Theatre – which hosted film screenings and other events – has been on the market for more than a year. Howard said the space would be “truly ideal” for her vision of a dinner theater in Peoria.
Plans to purchase and renovate the historic Peoria theater had been underway, Howard said, as she found an investor and crafted business and renovation plans. Her dreams of reviving the Apollo fell into limbo, however, after she said the investor encountered an unexpected health challenge.
Howard isn’t giving up on the Downtown Peoria theater, though, with a revival still her ultimate goal.
“It’s just paused,” she said, until she can secure the investment needed to bring the building back to life.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Business owner has vision for Downtown Peoria theater | Exclusive
Reporting by Cassidy Waigand, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Cassidy Waigand, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
