A New Agassiz Makes Debut; Renovations Run $1.7 Million

As the curtains drew back at the Agassiz Theater last night, house lights swept the stage to reveal the $1.7 million worth of renovations completed in time for the opening night of the Gilbert and Sullivan Players' production. The Pirates of Penzance.

But the Office of the Arts has not finished raising the money to pay the architecture firm. Goody Clancy and Associates, Mira A. Maynam, director of the office, said yesterday Maynam said she decided to go ahead with the contract because of rising construction costs. She added that the office hopes to raise the remainder from alumni and foundations.

Funds from a bond issue provided the initial capital for the' project, Maynam said.

"I think it's terrific that the 25th anniversary of the Gilbert & Sullivan Players coincides with the reopening of the theater." President Horner said, adding, "Radcliffe has always supported undergraduate theater and I'm very pleased that we're extending this support."

The renovations begun last February involve three connected buildings in Radcliffe Yard--Agassiz House, the Schlesinger Library, and the old Radcliffe Gym, which now houses Radcliffe archives.

"These are gorgeous and wonderful buildings and all we want to do is to return them to their former dignity." Maynam said. "I think the architect was very sensitive to this original beauty," she added.

The technical improvements--a Matrix lighting board and an intercom system--make the Agassiz an alternative to the Loeb for the staging of student productions, Claude P. d'Estree, assistant technical director at the Agassiz, said.

"The Agassiz will be the same cozy, old fashioned place it's always been--but with a new system." d'Estree said.

New dressing rooms, an extended stage, costume storage space, and a set-building shop will also make the Agassiz more "workable," d'Estree added.

The agassiz was built as a Radcliffe lecture hall in 1905, but has been in continuous use as a theater since the following year at the suggestion of George P. Baker, a Harvard Drama professor who pioneered the field of collegiate drama, Maynam said.