Infinity Hall is an American performing arts venue located in a historic building (constructed in 1883) in

Norfolk, Connecticut Norfolk () is a New England town, town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,588 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Regi ...

. Another venue also named Infinity Hall is operated by the same company in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

Infinity Hall, Norfolk

History

The venue was constructed in 1883 and originally functioned as a combination

opera house An opera house is a theater building used for performances of opera. Like many theaters, it usually includes a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, backstage facilities for costumes and building sets, as well as offices for the institut ...

, barber shop and saloon.Minor, E. Kyle (July 18, 1999)
"The View From/Norfolk; Raising the Curtain on an Old Jewel"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. Retrieved July 3, 2016. The building was chartered as the Norfolk Village Hall, although it was commonly known as the Norfolk Opera House. It was designed by the architect George Palliser, from Bridgeport, Connecticut, who published its design in his book, ''Palliser's Court Houses, Village, Town and City Halls, Jails and Plans of Other Public Buildings'' (1889). The Norfolk Opera House hosted

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and theatrical presentations until the late 1940s. For the following four decades, it was used as a

restaurant A restaurant is an establishment that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and Delivery (commerce), food delivery services. Restaurants ...

and a

grocery store A grocery store ( AE), grocery shop or grocer's shop ( BE) or simply grocery is a retail store that primarily retails a general range of food products, which may be fresh or packaged. In everyday US usage, however, "grocery store" is a synon ...

. The building was closed in 1994 and remained vacant for four years. In 1998 Kimberly Gelvin-Melville (now Kimberly Gelvin-Wilks) was given "right to first refusal" to try to get the townspeople or someone else to buy and restore the old opera house as a theater and not apartments or offices. She then produced a theater play in the dead of winter to try to draw public awareness of this glorious opera house she wished to run her own theater company in with the help of Trustees. The Four Poster was produced at The White Hart Inn in Salisbury and the Smithies saw the article in the tristate paper, Litchfield Times, about the building and Kimberly Gelvin-Melville's desire to save it. She gave the Smithies permission to purchase it because they liked all of her ideas to turn it back into a theater and run shops downstairs to help finance it. In 1998, the building was purchased by playwrights and theater producers Maura Cavanaugh and Richard Smithies for US$50,000, who undertook a US$650,000 restoration that included the rebuilding of an observation tower that was part of the original structure. Cavanaugh and Smithies renamed the venue the Greenwoods Theater and brought dramatic and musical productions to its stage. Mr. Smithie had asked Kimberly to play Cleopatra in a future production but sadly Mrs. Cavanaugh Smithie decided she did not wish to include Kimberly as a director or actress for fear of her getting the credit for their restorations. The theater was restored and Kimberly attended the opening but then returned to live in Australia with her former husband and daughter. Cavanaugh and Smithies operated the Greenwoods Theater until early 2007, when financial difficulties forced them to close the venue.

Rebirth as Infinity Hall

The venue was purchased by Dan Hincks for US $240,000 in a tax auction on February 3, 2007."The New Guys"
'' Fairfield Weekly''. October 16, 2008. Hincks, the chief executive officer of the

Farmington, Connecticut Farmington is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, Capitol Planning Region. The populati ...

-based printing and publishing business Data Management, undertook further interior and exterior restorations of the venue, including substantial structural improvements, a new restaurant named Infinity Bistro, a Meyer sound system, modern

green room In show business, the green room is the space in a theatre, or a similar venue, that functions as a waiting room and lounge for Performing arts, performers before, during, and after a performance or show when they are not engaged on Stage (thea ...

facilities, cabaret mezzanine seating, new wood finishing and expansion of the lower level. The resulting renovation created a 300-seat performing arts theater and restaurant destination. Hincks renamed the venue as Infinity Hall, telling an interviewer: "I called it Infinity because the sky is the limit when it comes to bringing people together with music." Infinity Hall's opening night was October 17, 2008, with a concert by singer

Kenny Rankin Kenneth Joseph Rankin (February 10, 1940 – June 7, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter in the folk rock and singer-songwriter genres; he was influenced by jazz. Rankin often sang notes which were in a high range to express emotion. ...

. Subsequent concerts featuring

Melissa Manchester Melissa Manchester (born February 15, 1951) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Since the 1970s, her songs have been played by adult contemporary radio stations. She has also appeared on television, in films, and on stage. Early li ...

Spyro Gyra Spyro Gyra is an American jazz fusion band that was formed in Buffalo, New York, in 1974. The band's music combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music. The band's name comes from ''Spirogyra'', a genus of green algae which founder Jay Beckenste ...

Richie Havens Richard Pierce Havens (January 21, 1941 – April 22, 2013) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. His music encompassed elements of folk music, folk, soul music, soul (both of which he frequently cover song, covered), and rhythm and b ...

and

Todd Rundgren Todd Harry Rundgren (born June 22, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer who has performed a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the bands Nazz and Utopia. He is known for his sophistica ...

. In May 2009, an in-house bistro was opened. In its first two years, Infinity Hall hosted more than 400 concerts attracting in excess of 80,000 patrons. In 2010, Infinity Music Hall was voted Best Music Hall in New England by ''

Yankee The term ''Yankee'' and its contracted form ''Yank'' have several interrelated meanings, all referring to people from the United States. Their various meanings depend on the context, and may refer to New Englanders, the Northeastern United Stat ...

'' magazine. Infinity Bistro, which opened May 1, 2009, was voted Best New Restaurant in Litchfield County and runner-up statewide in 2010 by a readers poll for ''

Connecticut Magazine ''Connecticut Magazine'' is an American monthly magazine covering the life, culture, politics, and style of the state of Connecticut. Founded in 1971, it was purchased in 2017 by the Hearst Corporation. It is a sister magazine o''The'' ''Connect ...

''. Beginning in 2012,

Connecticut Public Television Connecticut Public Television (CPTV) is the PBS member network for the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is owned by Connecticut Public Broadcasting, a community-based non-profit organization that holds the licenses for all PBS member stations lic ...

and

American Public Television American Public Television (APT) is an American nonprofit organization and syndicator of programming for public television stations in the United States. It distributes public television programs nationwide for PBS member stations and indepen ...

began a series of live musical performances at Infinity Hall by well-known artists as part of their ''Infinity Hall Live'' television series."Infinity Hall Live"
Television series,

Infinity Hall, Hartford

Infinity Hall, Hartford is located in a modern building on 32 Front Street, in the Front Street Entertainment District, near the

Connecticut Convention Center The Connecticut Convention Center is a convention center located in downtown Hartford, Connecticut, United States, overlooking the Connecticut River. History The center opened on June 2 2005. It was designed by Thompson, Ventulett, Stainback & ...

. It seats about 500 total – 415 on the stage level plus 90 in the mezzanine. For general admission shows the capacity increases to 750.

References

External links