ADAMS, Mass. — Final preparations are being made inside of Adams Theater as it prepares for an upcoming benefit concert by the piano group Two Piano Journey on Nov. 11.
The mother and son team, Michelle Chen Kuo and Christopher Kuo, is currently touring to raise money for philanthropic and charitable organizations. The duo has raised $1,456,000 for its partners since 2016.
Once complete, The concert space will have multi-directional seating around the performance, in addition to 20 dining tables with additional seating.
"I think the biggest surprise is people aren't going to know where they want to sit until the day of," said Yina Moore, founder and director of the Adams Theater. "I think it's part intentional, in a way, that we want to show people the possibility of seating varieties in this space."
The concert is part of a fundraising effort by the theater, which it launched in August. As of Nov. 3, it has raised over $58,000 of its $80,000 goal online and $14,000 more in offline donations.
In addition to the concert, the theater will host a community open house from 5 to 7 p.m. on the day, where food and other refreshments will be available. Moore said the open house allows people to learn more about the theater, regardless of their specific artistic interests.
"That is to make this experience more accessible for everyone, whether they purchased a ticket or did not purchase a ticket," Moore said. "If a piano performance is their thing or is not their thing, it's meant to be inclusive ... I hope to see more people, more young people and people from out of Adams, from other communities, to hear about this and just turn up."
Last week, the theater received an $800,000 grant from the state's Underutilized Properties Program, which will finance electrical upgrades, HVAC, a new roof and an accessible new floor. Despite renovation work taking up much of next year, Moore said there are still plans for several events and other programming throughout 2023.
"I don't want to tell too much because it's still in planning right now, but we would love to pause every six months of the way and showcase what has been developed, what has been done and what's next yet to come," she said. "And let the future audience become part of that journey."
To provide direction and insight on future programming as upgrades continue, the theater has established an Artistic Advisory Board. Its members are are Carolyn Brooks; Reggie Carter; Stacy Cochran; George LeMaitre & Pat Fietta; Jodi Joseph; Susan Killam; Matti Kovler; Chris Kuo; Melissa Silverstein; Nana Simopoulous & Caryn Heilman; David Tochterman; and Joe Wheaton.
