For the past five years, the Vergennes Opera House has been working on the All Access Project, which aims to make the historic building accessible to everyone. The project was originally planned to address the absence of an elevator, but its scope has since expanded to include additional accessibility improvements.
“We can’t call ourselves ‘All Access’ if a performer can’t get on stage or go into the dressing room,” said Gerianne Smart, president of the community volunteer nonprofit Friends of the Vergennes Opera House.
Constructed in 1897, the Opera House has long served as a cornerstone of cultural and performing arts in the community, playing an essential role in the growth and cultural fabric of Vergennes and the greater neighboring region. It hosted Addison Country’s first ever motion picture and has since featured numerous musical and theatrical performances. Over the years, the opera house has even welcomed notable figures such as President William Howard Taft and Tiny Tim, a prominent music icon in the 1960s.
In the 1970s, the Opera House fell into disrepair and briefly closed for restoration before reopening on its 100th anniversary in 1997. Garry Simpson, a local patron of the arts, spearheaded the restorative efforts. After the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House formed in 1993, they raised further funds to reinvest in the Opera House.
Today, the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House consists of 14 members, each bringing unique expertise to support the Opera House in organizing events, marketing efforts, fundraising and grant writing.
“I am backed by a very remarkable group of people who believe just as I do in the power of community and community spaces — that they are treasures of our community and should be maintained in a proper way and used,” Smart said.
The All Access Project has been one the group’s largest undertakings. In addition to the initial elevator tower, plans include a discrete lift to the stage and dressing room, which is now set to include a restroom compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The adjacent alleyway will be transformed into a more accessible courtyard, where individuals can purchase engraved bricks with their names to be placed in the space. Proceeds from the brick sales will help fund the project.
As the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House advances its accessibility initiative, Smart recalled a pivotal moment that reshaped the project’s direction. While driving through town, she spotted her friend Suzanne Rood gardening beside a wheelchair. The sight prompted a stark realization:
“Who do we think we are making decisions about accessibility when all of us have no problem getting in and out?” she asked.
Smart invited Rood to join the project, ensuring a more informed approach. Since then, Smart said Rood’s input has been instrumental, providing critical insights that have helped shape the initiative’s development. As a writer, Rood used her skills to assist with the grant writing process and contributed her perspective from dealing with Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease (CMT), a peripheral neuropathy condition.
“When people go forward into these kinds of projects to find someone — a community member who is really invested as much as we are, but at an even deeper level, to be part of it, is really special,” Smart said.
Construction for the All Access Project is planned to start at the end of April. The plans come amidst recent clarifications to the quo of the grant money necessary to complete the project. The activity of the Trump administration initially jeopardized the congressionally directed spending grant put forward by Sen. Bernie Sanders.
Smart received a response from the National Park Service, which is responsible for administering grant money, last week.
“New information has instilled great confidence in the project, which is all systems a go,” Smart said in response to concerns.
With the construction of the new improvements estimated to take place between April and February — overlapping with the house’s typical October to May season — the Friends of the Vergennes Opera House planned the Offstage Series scheduled for October 2025 to January 2026. The series will be a sequence of largely free and some ticketed performance events taking place all around the town of Vergennes. The Vergennes Congregational Church will host the annual Thanksgiving Hymn Sayings in November, and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church will host the 20th anniversary of Broadway Direct — featuring professional Broadway performers — in December.
Middlebury students have been involved with the Opera House through the MiddCORE Mentorship program dating back to 2013, when a student helped conduct a survey for the Vergennes nonprofit.
“It makes a big difference, to our non-profits, having students with energy and smarts to come in with a fresh eye and work with different organizations,” Smart said.
