A Popular Eastern Iowa Theatre Is Getting a New Life [PHOTOS]

New plans are in the works for a historic Eastern Iowa theater that just recently shut down!

It was devastating news to community theater lovers in Eastern Iowa when we told you a few months ago, that the Old Creamery Theater in Amana announced it would shut down as a result of financial pandemic struggles it couldn't recover from. We have good news as the theater will be taking on a new life very soon!

Old Creamery closed in February, just shy of its 50th Anniversary as Iowa's longest-running professional theater company. After taking over leadership of the theater and a lot of work to fix it up, the Corridor Business Journal says leaders with the Amana Society are excited to welcome visitors back for shows starting in May.

The auditorium and lobby will mostly stay intact, but some minor interior work needed to be done as well such as a fresh coat of paint, and fixing or replacing equipment, sound systems, and lighting.

Come the weekend of May 20-21, the show will go on when "Weekend Comedy" debuts in the auditorium

CBJ describes the show as a "hilarious comedy about two couples, one in their 20s and the other in their 50s, who book the same cabin for the same three-day weekend."

Tickets are available now, and you can get more information here.

But there's even more, potentially exciting news

The Amana Society's chief revenue officer Jeff Popenhagen told the Cedar Rapids Gazette, "we want to keep growing our hospitality." They are planning a big new "agritourism" site adjacent to the Amana Performing Arts Center.

The new site could include activities for kids: a train, slides, and treehouses. They will offer tours of the complex for everyone and possibly a beer garden for adults.

After touring other nearby agritourism sites, the Amana Society came up with some ideas of their own. They all but ruled out a consumer apple orchard given the very popular Wilson's Apple Orchard nearby. But along those same lines, they want to offer similar opportunities for a "grow-your-own" site with sweet corn, sunflowers, or a communal garden.

When any of this will actually get off the ground, near Highway 151 and north of Highway 220 is still unknown, but the folks in Amana have big plans to keep the area a special place for everyone to visit.