Boxoffice-November.24.1951

There are many ways of giving the
stage area that well-groomed look
At the Gateway Theatre in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.,
the dramatic portion of the stage decor is
the mural of tropical foliage on the eggshell
satin screen curtain. Special dyes were used for
the customed design. Here the aqua contour curtain
quietly harmonizes with the palm-green
masking legs and borders. In this styling, the
curtain forms its own valance and cascades as
it is raised by a series of cables. Curtain move
ments are handled by remote control from the
projection booth.
In the suburban shopping center near Takoma
Park, Md., the Sidney Lust circuit opened the
Allen Theatre, earlier this year. The seating
in the auditorium is so arranged that chair
colors are alternated. Thus, half have red seats
and green backs and half have green seats and
red backs. Covering the walls is a burgundy
damask with gold designs, while the plaster
wainscoting is maroon. The main curtain is in
a wine color and the unusual screen curtain has
wide vertical stripes of contrasting hues, somewhat
of a novelty in itself.
A Way to Cover An Old Wall
When William Goldman decided to remodel Philadelphia's
Karlton Theatre and reopen it as the Midtown, he introduced
many novel treatments of wall areas. In the auditorium,
the old walls were covered with a four-inch layer
of fireproof rock wool over which was placed robin's egg
blue velour with moulding in rope design. The largescaled
modern designs on the walls provided a varicolored,
soft and restful illumination to augment the
louvered recessed ceiling luminaires which flood the theatre
with light between shows.
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