Spa Little Theater’s Promising Future and Storied Past

SARATOGA SPRINGS — $12 million will be poured into the renovation of Spa Little Theater, which in recent years has hosted much of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center’s year-round programming.

To celebrate the project, an official groundbreaking ceremony was held last Thursday in one of the theater’s rooms, where paint was peeling off the walls and a noticeable hole in the ceiling offered proof that the venue built in 1935 could use a facelift.

“We are here to say that we stand on the threshold of the most ambitious and significant project SPAC has undertaken since it opened in 1966,” said Elizabeth Sobol, CEO of SPAC, at the groundbreaking ceremony. “The revitalized theater will expand artistic and educational and community experiences that connect people to the arts, to nature, and to one another year-round. Today’s groundbreaking represents far more than just the beginning of a construction project. It is a powerful investment in the future of SPAC and in the cultural vibrancy and economic health of this city, this county, and this region—transformation through restoration.”

Since taking over operations of the 500-seat Spa Little Theater in 2022, SPAC has presented more than 100 events at the venue, welcomed more than 35,000 guests, and expanded the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s season to a year-round residency. Part of the goal of the theater’s renovation/restoration is to “really solidify ourselves as a year-round presenter,” said Christopher Shiley, president of SPAC.

More than 17,00 square feet of the building (which was originally designed to be a lecture hall, not a theater) will be renovated, including, among other things: a new bar/cafe, a new artist suite and dressing rooms, updated theater seats, a new stage floor, a new lobby layout with more restrooms, an updated box office, a multipurpose community room with an adjacent outdoor patio, and a new Spa State Park-inspired mural on the walls of the theater.

Despite all these changes, SPAC wants to preserve the theater’s “charm” and “wonderful intimacy,” said Shiley. The front facade of the building will appear mostly the same post-renovation, although the stone steps will be restored, and a redesigned accessible entryway will be added. Inside the theater, the original color palette of cream and burgundy will be reinstated, while the seating and balcony will remain mostly the same.

Nods to the venue’s past speak to the reverence many feel for a theater that’s hosted legendary performers such as Groucho and Chico Marx, Kevin Kline, Patti Lupone, Gloria Swanson, Shirley Booth, and Vivian Vance (rumors that Robin Williams also graced the stage appear to be unsubstantiated).

According to the Saratoga Springs Preservation Foundation’s Dec. 2 virtual presentation, “Healing Water to the Arts: The Story of the Spa Little Theater,” a number of performing arts groups have passed through the venue, including both theater companies (Abbey Theater of Ireland, the Circle Repertory Company, and the Empire State Youth Theater Institute) and dance companies (Jose Limon, Pilobolus, Ellen Sinopoli, and Mark Morris).

During World War II, the theater was partly used to entertain soldiers. After the war and throughout the 1950s, it became known as the Spa Summer Theater and hosted a number of the aforementioned legendary performers. In the 1960s, it staged Broadway musicals such as “The King and I,” “South Pacific,” “Finian’s Rainbow,” and “Show Boat.” In the 1970s, John Houseman, an Oscar winner who worked with Orson Welles, brought his City Center Acting Company to the theater, staging as many as four plays in six-week increments. From 1985 to 2020, the Home Made Theater called the venue home, producing more than 175 plays there.

“I’ve heard many memories from individuals who have been impacted by this [theater] one way or the other over its many decades in the park,” Shiley said. “It’s been a real treat for me personally to work in the Spa Little Theater for the last three years producing SPAC’s year-round programming and getting to know more about what this building and this space have meant to the community for so many years.”

The historic Spa Little Theater will enter its next phase sometime around the end of 2026, when renovation work is expected to be completed.