Bedlam Theater occupancy

Bedlam Theater, a Cedar Riverside asset since 1993, recently moved to a new venue - the old Baja Grill at 15th Ave & 6th St, right on the Cedar Riverside LRT stop, and on the Hiawatha bikeway.

On Wednesday, my office started hearing complaints that customers were being turned away from the premier of the first show Bedlam is putting on in their new home, Inflammato. The reason? The maximum occupancy of their space was set at 80 people. I heard that one of the performer's mothers was unable to get in.

Amusingly, another one of the people who was unable to buy tickets to the opening was my very own Aide, Robin Garwood.

I soon learned that the Fire Marshall had declared the space safe for up to 200. My staff and I contacted the Regulatory Services folks to help get this sorted out. City staff, especially Inspector Linda Roberts, worked collaboratively and flexibly with the theater to get the occupancy changed. I heard from Linda that today, as of 2pm, the occupancy will be set at 200 people. The Fire Marshall has also stated that the theater can increase occupancy to 350 by doing a little work, and I hear that Bedlam is working on it.

I'm thrilled that the City was able to let this happen, and I wish Bedlam great success on Inflammato and all of their future shows.