Her major at UConn was communications, then education, but her love was the theater. So when a big birthday – she won’t say which one – arrived recently, Diane Briody took in the Boston Pops with her husband Joe and their three children at Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts.
As she strolled up to her seat, she noticed an envelope on it. The card inside told her that this particular seat was named just for her. The words, “Sing, dance, act, live Diane M. Briody ’87, ’95 for her love of the arts” were carved into a 4-inch brass plaque affixed to the seat, thanks to a gift from her husband, Joseph Briody, UConn’s associate director of student development and learning.
There are 1,800 seats available for naming at the recently renovated Jorgensen, at $500 per seat. The seats, now the soft green of a Granny Smith apple, are accompanied by new carpets, amped-up light wattage, a newly revamped foyer with enough space for its own concert, and other smaller changes that have professionalized the Jorgensen – so much so, Briody says, that “it looks like a Broadway theater now.”
The seat-naming campaign is the brainchild of the Jorgensen CoStars, a group of volunteers who donate $500 annually to the Jorgensen and also give of their talent and time. Their most recent significant gift to the Jorgensen: a new Steinway Model D Concert Grand Piano. Most artists in their contracts call for the presence of a Steinway, says Rod Rock, Jorgensen’s long-time director. The Jorgensen now has three, and they all get used.
The seat-naming idea is catching on. “Some folks have been coming since Jorgensen opened in 1955, so there’s a real emotional connection,” Rock says. “Diane Briody worked at Jorgensen as an usher as an undergraduate here. Others who named seats want to support the arts in Connecticut. To have this type of programming at this level in the hills of eastern Connecticut is remarkable. Because of our proximity to New York and Boston, we have access to incredible artists. They can drive here in the afternoon, rehearse, perform, and be home at 1 in the morning.”
That access is what keeps the Briodys and others like them coming back each season. When asked why she feels the Jorgensen is important, Diane Briody answers as if on cue. “Culture,” she says. “When I can’t get to Broadway, I go to the Jorgensen. And I just love the renovations. I think the theater is beautiful.”
For more information on naming a seat, please visit Jorgensen’s seat-naming campaign page or make a gift online to the campaign.
