Byrd Theatre Foundation Announces It Has Reached Funding Goal to Install “New Seat Smell”

CARYTOWN — Last week during their quarterly budget meeting, members of the Byrd Theatre Foundation announced that they had finally obtained enough subsidy to infuse the theater seats with “new seat smell.”

“This has been a goal for a long time,” the Foundation president Anne Scion explained. “But other, more pressing, budget-related items kept coming up. Like making the stairs to the balcony steeper. Or doing repairs on our mediocre popcorn maker.”

The theater will be closed for three full days this summer due to the extensive scent-enhancement process. Experts will strip the seats entirely, install the updated smell, and put the fabric back onto each cushion. Hippodrome Theater owners had the same procedure done last year and received a unanimously positive response from customers.

The new seat smell is just the first step in the Byrd Theatre Foundation’s plan to revitalize and upgrade the theater. Their next steps include purchasing a liquid butter station for popcorn, installing an IMAX dome, and replacing the “Mighty Wurlitzer” organ with an electric keyboard.

“We want to maintain the historic infrastructure of the building, while also updating it to fit modern times,” Scion said. “The historical aspect is nice for a little while, but really people just want to hang out somewhere bright and new. But at the end of the day, it’s all about the budget.”

To donate to the Byrd Foundation, visit them online at www.byrdtheatre.com/information/fundraising.