Hurricane Milton hit Central Florida on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, bringing strong rains and winds reaching over 100 mph across the state. As the state recovers days after the storm, many residents are discovering devastating amounts of damage to their homes and businesses.
The damage done to the Melon Patch Theater in Leesburg has cut the local community deep.
“I noticed it after (Thursday) morning,” said Dustin Lavine, executive director of the Melon Patch Theater at 311 N. 13th St. in Leesburg. “Through all the craziness of making sure my home was safe, in the back of my mind was Melon Patch. As soon as it was safe to come out, I went to the theater. At first glance, I thought we were OK, but as I got closer to the back, I noticed a piece of our roof on the ground. It was like a big gut punch.”
Since the original discovery, the roof was tarped to prevent further damage being done — at an estimated cost of $3,000. Work to determine the complete estimates for repair and replacement of the roof is underway.
The discovery was so devastating because the damage to the building from the hurricane is not covered by insurance and because the theater building was set to be sold, a move that’s been in the making for the last few years, Lavine said.
“Sadly, our insurance will not cover this so we have to take repairs on ourselves to try to keep the old girl in the condition under which contracts were signed,” theater officials said.
The theater’s director explained there were concerns about the 75-year-old building and work that needed to be done before the storm came.
“The roof was already a big concern for us before the storm,” he said. “We are working on getting an estimate of how much the damage will cost. Luckily, our deal is still set to go through, and the buyer is still interested as long as we take off the estimate.”
With the theater being a nonprofit with only two paid employees, it will be an all-hands-on-deck effort to get the roof repaired, with a call to action being made to the theater’s regulars asking them to donate funds.
“A community theater needs community,” Lavine said. “The budget is pretty minimal because we had to prepare for the move and began to put a lot of things in storage.”The theater typically has hosted an annual haunted house and a Christmas show to help bring community members together to celebrate the arts during the holidays.
“Having key programming and plays at the theater help create a drive for the youth or even just give people something to do that they enjoy,” Lavine said.
He added that the drop in annual programming put on by the theater and the cut in government funding for the arts are both playing a part in the status of the theater’s current low funds.
“Shows are our only consistent form of producing funds to be used for other programming,” Lavine said. “We typically have five to six shows a year. (The changes) put us down to four shows this year. It’s a pretty big hit to the finances when you lose even one show.”
Since posting news about the damage to the theater’s Facebook page, the theater has received nearly $350 in donations from five donors.
“That’s great. That’s already like 10% of what we need. Any amount helps,” Lavine said. “We are also looking into disaster relief to help with repair but that will be time consuming with everyone calling right now.”
Along with asking for the donations, Lavine is encouraging supporters to purchase tickets for the upcoming musical performance at the theater scheduled for Nov. 1-3 and Nov. 8-10, inspired by the first American serial killer.
“We can still go forward with putting on the world premiere production of ‘The Devil Inside: The Curious Case of Dr. H. H. Holmes,’” he said. “It’s a cast of 22 people with amazing talent putting on an original production. It’s always special to create something that is totally new. Getting tickets for the show is huge. That is going to help us a lot.”
Looking to the future, the theater will call a new location home at the start of 2025. At the beginning of the new year, the theater will be located at the Tropic Theater, 122 W. Main St. in Leesburg. The location is a historical landmark that was built in 1932.
“We will be located in a much more prominent place, and it was the best option for the theater,” Lavine said.
For details on how to donate to the theater or to purchase tickets to the upcoming play, visit the melonpatchplayers.org or call 352-787-3013.
Staff writer Brea Jones can be reached at 352-753-1119, ext. 5414, or brea.jones@thevillagesmedia.com.
