Downtown Wausau has its theater back. The Grand Theater reopened on Friday, Nov. 6, marked by a ribbon cutting and a ceremonial toast.
About 150 people attended the official first look at the restored historic space. The reopening capped a $17.5 million effort that got underway in May.
Executive Director Sean Wright called the six-month deadline ambitious. Theater staff and contractors had originally considered closing for two summers to finish the work before deciding to speed up the timeline instead.
Wright described the final week of work as organized chaos and credited contractor Miron, theater staff and the hundreds of men and women who worked on the project. A few punch-list items remain, but he said the theater is ready to go.
Wayne Newton was set to perform on Saturday night, with many other acts and shows to follow in the reopened venue.
