The Paramount's Extreme Makeover

The sumptuousness and style of the Paramount Theatre's front of house is well-known, but what's maybe less well-known is that as elegant as what's in front of the stage is, what's behind it is, well, the opposite of elegant. Institutional tile flooring, fluorescent lights, exposed pipes, a perpetually damp boiler room, and strictly utilitarian furnishings have for years kept the performers' dressing areas downstairs feeling like medical waiting rooms on a steamship.

But that's all changing. Next Thursday, July 29, new Paramount Executive Director Ken Stein is unveiling the new and improved – and oh-so-design-friendly – back of house. Local designers belonging to the Austin chapter of the International Interior Design Association were unleashed on the space and told to do whatever they wanted to the area's two chorus rooms, three dressing rooms, bathrooms, green room, hallway, and production office. Money was no object because, um, the Paramount had no money for the project. Even so, the lure of putting their design stamp on part of the historic venue was so great that the designers contributed their efforts and got all appliances, materials, and labor donated. The results, as imagined and executed by Dick Clark Architecture, Leslie Fossler Interiors, Studio Works, Sixth River Architects, Vive! Lifestyle Design LLC, Susman Tisdale Gayle, the Architect's Office Company, and Peel Paulson Design Studio Inc., include marble floors, granite countertops, and themed dressing rooms, one of which has a Texas feel and another that's rendered in art deco style. Kudos to former Paramount board member and active interior designer Janna Paulson, principal in Peel Paulson Design Studio, for organizing the project. The open house on the 29th is a wine-and-cheese wingding for donors and members of the local design scene with a $75 ticket price. If you're not quite that flush but still want to see the Paramount's new look, drop by on Saturday, July 31, or Sunday, August 1, when public viewings are scheduled for a suggested donation. For more information, call 692-0530 or go online at www.austintheatre.org.