The $7.5 million project includes new seats for the 1,200-seat venue, as well as repairs to the Amphitheatre stage floor and construction to allow for better water drainage. The lighting and sound systems will also be upgraded. The renovations will prevent the organization from offering its winter programming at the 87-seat [Inside] the Ford venue.

The Ford Amphitheatre and [Inside] the Ford will reopen in May 2013. The venue offers programming from Broadway concerts to jazz, classic and contemporary music as well as plays and more.

"We have wanted to make these improvements for some time," said Ford Theatres managing director Adam Davis in a statement. "We are currently going through a planning process that's enabled us to prioritize needs and these were at the top of the list. These improvements will make producing at the Ford better and maintaining the facility easier while retaining the Amphitheatre’s historic character."

The amphitheatre was built in 1920 as the site of playwright Christine Wetherill Stevenson's The Pilgrimage Play. First named the Pilgrimage Theatre, it was rebuilt in 1931, following a fire that destroyed the original construction. It was renamed the Ford Theatre in 1976 for John Anson Ford.

Visit FordTheatres.org.