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Long road to recovery ahead for Marshalltown Community Theatre after derecho

The August 10 derecho wrought widespread damage to the Marshalltown community, including making the community theater completely unusable for the time being.

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa — As stages across the country continue to stay dark amid the pandemic, one Iowa theater may have to wait even longer, and for an unrelated reason.

Marshalltown was slammed by the derecho back on August 10, bringing more widespread damage than the tornado in 2018.

Among the damages was the Martha Ellen Tye Playhouse, where the Marshalltown Community Theatre puts on their shows.

The storm left the Playhouse nigh unusable, meaning it's going to be a while before the curtain rises again.

"The storm peeled off the roof of the theater and the community center we're attached to, which exposed asbestos," Marshalltown Community Theatre Board President Rick Gooding said.  "That has to be taken care of before we can do anything else."

We have been working on getting things ready for the repair process. As things are getting done and as we can have...

Posted by Marshalltown Community Theatre on Tuesday, September 1, 2020

The blackout curtains around the stage will also need replaced, as they suffered some significant water damage.

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