Austin State Theatre postpones events after water main break

A break in a water main has caused flooding at the State Theatre. Events starting with Thursday’s double feature of “The Worst Person in the World” and “Pillion” have been postponed.

The theater is expected to reopen on July 1 in time for Hitchcock Month.

“Just after 7 p.m. last night, there was a significant water main break in the alley behind the Hyatt Centric Hotel, State Theatre and Paramount Theatre,” said Nick Barbieri, spokesman for the Austin Theatre Alliance, which operates the State and Paramount, “resulting in a significant infiltration of water to the stage, front row area and backstage greenroom of the State. We are having to dry out and put new plywood onto the stage. The water reached the first row of seats, so we will be drying and servicing those. There is also work to be done backstage in the green room area.”

The larger, older Paramount closed June 16 for almost a year for renovations and restorations. Events that normally would play the Paramount have been distributed to the State, along with the IMAX theater at the Bullock Texas State History Museum, the Austin Independent School District Performing Arts Center and Radio East.

Among the upcoming events at the State on July 2 is the 20th anniversary screening of “Nobelity” and “One Peace at a Time,” from the Austin-based charity, the Nobelity Project. The nonprofit was founded by Turk and Christy Pipkin and has raised $8 million for projects in multiple places, including Kenya and Central Texas.

The Pipkins recently announced that the last of their projects will be scholarship endowments at the University of Texas, Huston-Tillotson University and in Kenya. The July 2 event at the State, which theater staff said looks safe, is meant to kick off the campaign.

The State, built as a movie venue in 1935, was turned into a live theater in 1998. After two years of independence, it joined the Austin Theatre Alliance in 2000.

A major flood at the State in June 2006 canceled its 2006-2007 season and severely damaged much of the east end of the building, which is below street level. The State was already slated for a major overhaul of its interior after the Paramount reopens.

Theater staff said this week’s damage was nothing like the scale of the 2006 flood.

The five events that were affected — ‘The Last Picture Show,’ ‘The Worst Person in the World’ and ‘Pillion’ double feature, Fat Bottom Cabaret, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure’ and the ‘BlowUp’ and “Blow-Out’ double feature — will be rescheduled to other open dates on the calendar.