Known for its long history of housing Knott’s Berry Farm performers and shows, the Bird Cage Theatre has a new look — and feel.
From improving air conditioning to replicating the finest details of the original wallpaper, the design and build teams have been working to revitalize a theater that has hosted performers noted on its walls, ranging from Lauren Tewes of “The Love Boat” fame, to celebrity Steve Martin.
Whittier College students were the opening cast members when Knott’s Berry Farm opened the Bird Cage Theatre in 1954.
(Courtesy of Knott’s Berry Farm)
Its grand reopening on March 13, coinciding with the return of Knott’s Boysenberry Festival, offered a presentation of “The Great Bank Robbery,” which will be on stage throughout the festival. A panel discussion featuring design and production team members who worked on the theater renovation was held before invited guests including media and former park employees.
“This revitalization brings the heart and soul of the iconic venue back to life, celebrating its classic charm, playful character and nostalgic details … many lovingly restored after decades unseen,” Vice President of Entertainment Payden Adams said about the Victorian-style, melodrama theater. “For over a year, our talented team immersed themselves in the theater’s rich history, digging deep to rediscover its original personality. Every element, down to the smallest accent, was thoughtfully designed to honor its storied past while elevating the experience for today’s guests.”
Adams said two of the biggest challenges for the theater, which originally opened in 1954, related to sound and temperature. To resolve these, air conditioning units were increased and insulation improved. There’s drapery over the ceiling and sound proofing.
“As we were going with the construction company and kind of navigating, reinforcing the walls and putting in insulation, you started to pull back paneling,” he said. “That’s when we discovered, ‘Oh, there’s wallpaper over here.’”
The wallpaper beneath revealed rows of small, hand-painted, Victorian-style bird cages. The Knott’s design team knew they had to preserve it. They did that by replicating the wallpaper in as much detail as possible.
The new Bird Cage Theatre wallpaper recreates the original that was discovered during the renovation.
(Jessica Peralta)
“By preserving, we just wanted to bring it back, you know?” he said. “I think one thing we love here is our history, right?”
Adams said to address the previous sound issues — outside noise spilling in from theme park activities, roller-coasters and a nearby trash compactor — the goal was to create a sound stage.
“We completely insulated the roofs, all of the walls got triple insulated,” he said. “Really in an effort to pull down sound and hold out heat.”
Lighting was another area of improvement.
“The old lighting rig that we had in there for years, it was exposed. You could kind of see the structure hanging like right in the purview, watching the stage,” he said. “So we made an investment to upgrade the entire lighting system to be fully LED. Not only did that give us design capabilities, but it also mitigated some heat problems too.”
The Bird Cage Theatre is now staging the Knott’s melodrama, “The Great Bank Robbery.”
(Jessica Peralta)
An underlying theme of the remodel was to bring back a bit of the original intent of Bird Cage Theatre.
“I feel like we’ve honored our history, and we will continue,” he said. “But we’re also not forgetting to keep it fresh and relevant for audiences.”