Portsmouth, NH – A truckload of assorted furnishings donated by XSS Hotels and Colwen Hotel Management of Manchester and Portsmouth was delivered recently to the Seacoast Repertory Theatre on 125 Bow St. in Portsmouth.
New Furniture embellishes the lobby
The delivery consisted of approximately 12 chairs and sofas that were offered to the theatre by the development partners Leo Xarras and PROCON owner Mark Stebbins.
The donation came about when Xarras and Stebbins began renovations on a nearby hotel and decided to give some little-used furniture to a good cause. The theatre’s previous lobby furniture was more than 10 years old, but with nearly 300 productions per year and about 30,000 overall patrons, it had deteriorated considerably.
Steel Magnolias cast enjoys the new furniture
Alan Gold, president of the theatre’s board of trustees commented on the difference the new furniture has made. “To say that our previous lobby furnishings were ‘shabby’ is to understate things dramatically, and this donation has enabled us to create the comfortable, more elevated public space that our patrons deserve.”
For the theater leadership and staff, the general feeling was best summarized by the theater’s executive director, Kathleen Cavalaro, who said, “I never work in my office anymore. Nobody does. It’s too comfortable down here.”
