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All the way from Hollywood
By Ashley Hoey of Coburn Design, Inc.
Carey Eidel never imagined he'd own a pizza joint in a small suburban area of Upstate New York. To everybody else, it seemed crazy. To him, it was love. A girl named Angela would bring him back to a place called, "Auburn," and a place she called, "home."
Many wondered, "Why would you ever give up working in Hollywood to come back to 'Auburn'?" To this day, Carey thinks it made total sense.
The owners of Daddabbo's, Carey Eidel and Angela Daddabbo met in Los Angeles while pursuing their careers in the entertainment industry. The two always prided themselves on having loving families and how being in Los Angeles made it difficult to see them often. Ironically enough, the two always knew, before having met, that they'd create a small theater in a small city at some point. We're not sure if Carey always pictured himself as a pizza shop owner, but it somehow seems to work out.
"The pizzeria is doing great," said Daddabbo. "We call it 'theater by the slice,'" said Eidel.
After moving back due to family matters, and in addition to taking over the family pizzeria, Angela and Carey decided it was time to revisit the dream they had out in California. They organized a board of directors to help them create what would become a breath of fresh air for Auburn.
"Carey and I both had a vision to do this when we were living in LA," said Daddabbo. "It was a dream we had in California and we thought maybe we could do it here.""
Daddabbo and Eidel looked at properties all over Cayuga County before deciding on the location, which happens to be conveniently located across from Daddabbo's pizza.
"We looked at every property in Cayuga County. Then we decided we wanted to go downtown. Everyone wants to go downtown in any city," said Daddabbo.
In the planning stage, Angela and Carey thought about making a major investment into the theater with newsprint on the windows and a state of the art interior. However, after some careful decision making, the two decided they'd work their way up when it came to construction of the building.
"The people are really seeing their investment. That fifteen dollars they just paid to see the show went directly to our construction costs and they are literally invested," said Daddabbo.
As the theater opened its doors in 2005, the Auburn community immediately gravitated to the idea of new entertainment in the city. The two entrepreneurs are extremely grateful for the support they've received from the community and are amazed every day that they are still up and running with the small budget they have.
"I think it's about the energy that we have with taking on the risk, with putting attitude and enthusiasm into Auburn," said Eidel.
The theater actually hosted a high profile New York producer at one of the shows early on. He was immediately impressed with the theater, the vision of Eidel and Daddabbo and the talent that he was exposed to.
"Through some contacts, a New York producer had come up to attend the show. We got a phone call, it happened to click when the performer had his show in Auburn. I never would have had contact with someone of his stature, and he even stayed at the Inn at the Finger Lakes," said Daddabbo.
When asked about the challenges that the Auburn Public Theater faces, Eidel expressed his initial concerns with a stagnant attitude in Auburn about his return from Hollywood and the doubts he received from some.
"Strangers came up to me and asked me why I would ever leave Hollywood, some were actually...well, mad," said Eidel.
Daddabbo shared her thoughts on the attitude in Auburn and what it was like when she grew up here.
"I grew up in the 70's in Auburn, and downtown was bustling. There's not a lot of imaginative work to do. We've tried to show people what was possible."
The theater has become so successful thus far that Syracuse entertainment venues have actually contacted the theater in Auburn for assistance.
"People in Syracuse are coming to us to get programming, and this is our second season, so it's pretty crazy," said Daddabbo.
The theater is in the process of constructing a new movie theater and martini bar. The renovations are scheduled to be completed in 2007. Daddabbo and Eidel are excited about the possibilities of the theater.
"There's something about the building that's truly exciting for downtown Auburn," said Eidel.
Operation Auburn wants to take this opportunity to congratulate Carey and Angela on their success. We appreciate your willingness to take risks and show the people of our community that dreams can come true with a little faith and a lot of passion for what you pursue. Great things will come from the theater, we're sure, and we'll keep you all posted on the exciting things going on at the Auburn Public Theater.
Please visit www.auburnpublictheater.com to find out more information on upcoming performances and purchasing tickets.
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