National Theater slowly making progress on repairs

A little more than one month after the severe thunderstorm and hail which caused damage to structures throughout the area, the National Theatre in Breckenridge is working to repair the damage done to the historical building.

Darby Byrd, the board member in charge of repairs, said the group is taking the recovery process “one step at a time.”

“We’re just about finished with the roof. And then once the roof is completed, we’re going to start the interior. But we’re probably looking at sometime in January to be done according to the contractor,” he said.

According to Byrd, the theater also suffered damage to its floors, ceilings, drywall, and an air conditioning unit, as well as some original fixtures in the theater.

“The stamped metal, you know, an antique, (was damaged), which we’re kind of sad about,” Byrd said. “That’s one of the few original things left in the theater.”

The theater was forced to cancel their showing of the movie “Dog” in May due to the damage to the theater’s roof.

Breckenridge ISD pitched in to help by allowing the Missoula Children’s Theater to utilize Bailey Auditorium for its workshop week and performance.

“The show must go on, and thankfully, the show gets to go on! Despite the extensive damage to our theatre, we’ve been able to relocate the Missoula Children’s Theatre week and performances to Bailey Auditorium! Thank you to those with BISD who helped make this possible,” the theater posted on Facebook Monday, May 23.

Performances for The Frog Prince will be held at 2 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. this Saturday, June 18, at Bailey Auditorium, 400 W. Lindsey in Breckenridge.

Byrd said they are working on rescheduling upcoming shows and concerts, and is unsure when they will get back to normal operations.

“We hate it, you know. Christmas time is a big time of year for us. We always have a Christmas show and a kids thing. So, we’re gonna most probably have to cancel that this year. But I’m sure we’ll have some type of show or something. We had several concerts lined up that we’ve had to work on rescheduling or postponing,” Byrd said. “(...) with supply chain issues occurring now, all the stuff for replacement and repair, you just don’t know, time-wise, when we’ll get it, but we’re doing everything we can. It’s all an insured loss. So, yeah, we’re okay there.”