ALPENA — After six years without any actors gracing its stage, the Thunder Bay Theatre is nearing the completion of its renovations and productions are on the horizon.

The theatre was devastated by water and smoke damage from a fire that destroyed the former John A. Lau saloon in 2020. In 2023, a second fire broke out in the theatre in the warehouse area.

A group of volunteers on the theatre’s board have been fundraising over the past couple of years and have now raised over $2 million through grant funds and donations to repair the theatre, Anne Gentry, Thunder Bay Theatre president said.

The theatre will be fully renovated by the end of the summer, Gentry said. Then, there will be some fundraising for updates to the auditorium. The auditorium was broken into and robbed of its sound and light system after renovations from the first fire began in 2023, so that whole system will be replaced.

The lobby of the theatre still maintains its tin ceiling, brick walls, and original chandeliers. A bar will be reinstalled as well. Gentry said the lobby area had a lot of water damage and all the drywall and floors had to be torn out. The bathrooms have been completely redone and the tin ceiling was repainted.

A new space has been built in the back of the building for set design, dressing rooms, and a green room. The space will have a door opening onto the stage. It will also include a kitchenette in the future so food can be prepped and brought in at events.

The apartments above the theatre are being updated, but keeping much of the original charm. The apartments still have original wooden doors, skylights, wainscoting, hardwood flooring, and more. Gentry said that they will be used by employees of the theatre once operations are up and running again.

She said the plan is to start hiring staff in winter in 2027 and then have the first production in the spring, and more productions in the summer and fall.

Productions will include children’s productions, broadway musicals, dramas, as well as one-off events like concerts, Gentry said.

“Its pretty fulfilling to come up here and see all the progress, especially after the fire, when you compare the before and after pictures,” Gentry said.

Exterior work has also been done, with new windows in the front and plans for a mural on the side of the building facing Oldfield Street. Gentry said that the muralist will also repaint the letters of Thunder Bay Theatre on the front of the building.

Next to the lobby is an office space and Show posters will be displayed in the windows there.

The side of the building facing the river still has the painted words from when the theatre was owned by Spens Pharmacy. Gentry said that will stay.