Duval County

Florida Theatre reopens for the first time since March 12

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Downtown Jacksonville’s iconic Florida Theatre will reopen Wednesday evening, after falling victim to the coronavirus pandemic back in March.

Its suffered financially for the last several months, but there will finally be an audience in its seats.

“I wore a suit today [Wednesday]. I don’t think I’ve worn a suit in nine months,” Numa Saisselin, the Theatre’s President, said. “We’re super excited. We’ve been close for all this time.”

Some changes have been made due to COVID-19.

Masks must be worn from entry to exit. An abundance of hand sanitizer stations have been added. There is now plexiglass at the ticket counter and bar, as well as social distancing measures in place.

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“There will be two seats to either side of each customer, and two seats front and back of each customer,” Saisselin explained. “So, we’re spacing everybody out.”

The Theatre is operating at 50% capacity, which is not terrific for profit-making.

However, Saisselin said this is a good starting point.

If you’d like to donate to the Florida Theatre’s “Cross the Finish Line” campaign, click HERE.