September 25, 2000
Thanks to a generous gift from the Laraja Foundation, the Studio Theatre will be renovated and renamed the L. Howard Fox Theatre.
Fox was a faculty member at Montclair State for 33 years. He was the founding chair of the Speech and Theatre Department, and the consulting designer for both Memorial Auditorium and the Studio Theatre.
Located in the Speech Building, the Studio Theatre has 100 fixed chairs and 85 movable chairs, according to Eric Diamond, chair of Theatre and Dance.
Funding from the Laraja Foundation, along with support from alumni, faculty, staff and friends, will provide for the replacement of seating, carpeting and flooring; the purchase and installation of new lighting and sound equipment; and the rewiring of the electrical system. The renovations are expected to be complete by the spring. Additional funding is being sought to renovate the lobby and install an electric marquee.
In making the gift, the Laraja Foundation, a major contributor to the University's Capital Campaign, requested that the theater's name be changed to honor and acknowledge Fox's service to Montclair State and its students. The Board of Trustees approved renaming the theater at its Sept. 14 meeting.
Fox, who passed away in 1996, served the Montclair State community from 1944 to 1977. "Everyone who knew Fox agreed he was a dynamic man who had a passion for the theater and for teaching," Diamond said.
A reception to officially announce the naming of the L. Howard Fox Theatre will take place at an alumni event Nov. 17 following the 8 p.m. performance of "Fiddler on the Roof."