Vandals cause $300,000 in damage during break-in at historic Folly Theater in Kansas City
By Alan Shope
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KANSAS CITY, Missouri (KMBC) — Staff at the historic Folly Theater are cleaning up after a costly and frustrating break-in that left the 125-year-old downtown landmark badly damaged.
Police say vandals broke into the nonprofit theater early Friday morning, smashing through the ADA entrance and wreaking havoc inside the building.
“They smashed our ADA door and went into the building,” said Cassidy Manetta, the theater’s marketing manager. “They broke a bunch of our monitors and deployed six or seven fire extinguishers, which is really what caused the most damage because it got into our HVAC system.”
The thick residue from the extinguishers spread through the entire facility, forcing the cancellation of this weekend’s scheduled show.
Crews expect cleanup to take at least a week and the full cost of repairs could reach $300,000.
“We do not know the extent of all the damage yet or what is missing,” Manetta said. “We haven’t really been able to survey it properly.”
The Folly, known for bringing affordable performing arts to Kansas City, now faces an unexpected pause in programming.
Manetta said the theater hopes to reopen in time for its next show on Nov. 1.
“We know for sure that some liquor was smashed — they threw red wine up the walls to the ceiling,” she said. “It just stinks, you know? Why do this to a place that’s just trying to bring arts to the community?”
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