Bedlam Theater floored

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A view of the floor in the fireplace room of Bedlam Theatre.

On Tuesday night Bedlam Theatre's Tech Director was working in one of its cabaret spaces, when his foot went through the floor. And then steam rose up through the hole. This, right where one of the stages usually sits.

Bedlam's Scott Covey said the staff discovered two hot water pipes had been rubbing up against each other under the floor, and one had sprung a leak. The heat and moisture slowly ate away at floor joists which had already been charred in a fire a couple of decades before.

"Well, this explains why we've been having hot water problems," laughed Covey.

Bedlam Theatre rents the building (which is actually three different buildings cobbled together), and Covey says the landlord stepped in quickly to help repair the situation. While Bedlam provided manual labor to haul out the rubble and tile, a plumber repaired the leaking pipe and a contractor came in to assess the building.

Covey says the water damage is limited to the one floor, and does not affect the integrity of the building. He says the theater company's biggest worry was that the patio above the theater space would become unsafe.

Bedlam is currently hosting Live Action Set's "The Happy Show" which takes audiences through the entire building; Live Action Set has reworked its show to avoid the affected area, and is continuing its run. All performances scheduled for "the fireplace room" have been cancelled until further notice.

Interested in helping Bedlam? They're looking for skilled carpenters to help with some of the work. Visit their GiveMN page to find out more.

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