The Morris gets makeover to host wedding party

The innovative response by the staff for the Morris Performing Arts Center and the Palais Royale ballroom, two public facilities operated by the City of South Bend, is being profiled in the Winter 2011 issue of Wedding Day magazine.

The two landmark facilities, listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are also the region’s premier venues for shows and performances (the Morris) and wedding receptions and banquets (the Palais Royale).

Earlier this year, the father of former University of Notre Dame kicker D.J. Fitzpatrick learned the Palais Royale was already booked on the planned wedding reception date of D.J. and his soon-to-be bride, Brooke Jerdan. But Dennis J. Andres, executive director of the Morris and Palais Royale, suggested an alternative: Have the first wedding reception in the Morris Performing Arts Center’s 89-year history.

Andres had seen photos of similar historic theaters in which crews were able to build a platform extending from the stage over the main-floor theater seats, creating a large, open floor for a wedding reception of 600 guests.

In addition to being among the Top 100 theater venues for worldwide ticket sales (as reported in 2010 by Pollstar), the Morris provides a stunning and ornate historical backdrop for any event. Built at a cost of more than $1 million in 1921 as the Palace Theater, the Morris underwent a 26-month, $17.4 million renovation before reopening in February 2000. One of its original builders in 1921 described the interior as “an atmosphere of magnificence [and] splendor … sparkling with rich details of Spanish origin that will furnish a thrill to the art lover.”

All that would make the Fitzpatrick reception a one-of-a-kind experience.

Andres’ work took about six months of coordination, including phone calls and meetings.

Levitation Staging, of Grand Rapids, Mich., worked with local unions and 20 event-specialty people to make the huge staging project happen in about 12 hours. Now you can watch the exciting transformation in a two-minute video by South Bend’s Grass Roots Media.

Andres hopes to use the deck of interlocking pieces again for other receptions, social gatherings and trade shows.

Click here for a “sneak peek” of the Wedding Day article.