The State Theatre Center for the Arts in Easton unveiled its new stage curtain on opening night of its 88th season.

The new curtain is the culmination of a successful fund drive by the theater to replace its old, worn "main rag," as main stage curtains are called."The State Theatre is listed on the National Register of Historic Places," says Shelley Brown, president and CEO of the State Theatre Center For The Arts Inc., after the Sept. 20 unveiling. "We are a very old building."The building was modified in 1910 from a bank to Neumeyers Vaudeville House, renamed The State in 1926, after major renovations, including larger auditorium, balcony and Beaux-Arts decorations. It was added to the National Register in 1982."The previous curtain was full of dry rot. We needed a new curtain," says Brown.The old main stage curtain was purchased in 1986 and saw its share of legendary superstars, Broadway hits and 11 years of Freddy students.At a distance, the curtain appeared in good condition, but closer inspection revealed deterioration. In 2010, part of the curtain tore under its own weight."We got an estimate of $45,000, which is a lot of money," says Brown. "So, we went out into the community. It came in $5, $10 and bigger donations, too, of course."The non-profit State Theatre launched a 2013 year-end "Curtain Call Campaign" for the new curtain and exceeded its original goal by raising $58,639."With the donations that came in we were able to replace not only the 'main rag,' but the box curtains as well."The new curtain was made by Rose Brand East of Secaucus, New Jersey, one of the nation's oldest fabricators of stage curtains."The old curtain just fell apart when it came down," said Frank Rafinski, State Theatre vice president of Production."The new curtain took two full days to hang and the box curtains took another day," Rafinski said."The color is as close as we could get to the old one. This new curtain is flame-retardant and the other one was not."Brown is thankful to the community for its support of the curtain project and excited for the upcoming season at the State."I'm grateful for every new season," she says. "There's lots of competition in the marketplace now. There are a lot of places for people to go."The fact that people want to come here fills me with gratitude. People love it here. They love the shows, the building, and the Freddy Awards," Brown said."For some people, it's about the music. For some people, it's a special night out. And for some people, it's a chance to get away from whatever is going on in their life that is bothering them," Brown said."Everyone is going to leave here feeling good."