About Us

The windows were boarded up, the furnace was barely gasping out warmth and the ceiling had gaping holes.

Still, when Vicki and Don Elwood saw the old church at Logan and Avon, they knew they’d found their new theater.

Well, Vicki knew she had found her new theater. Don actually thought they were buying the building to rehab it as their home.

And maybe one day they will rehab the attic into a living space, he said, but about a year into the project Don was convinced to let Vicki have her way with the building.

And, finally, six years after they bought it, the old North Presbyterian church at 1353 Avon St. is about to debut as the newest theater in town — The Muse Theatre. They will christen the new stage with “Batboy: The Musical,” which opens Thursday, Jan. 29.

The restoration of the building is as much about a love for old buildings as it is about a love for theater. The couple has always wanted to restore an old building and repurpose it for their home. In New York, they had their eye on an old schoolhouse. In Minneapolis, it was an old hat factory. And in La Crosse it was this old church that had fallen on hard times.

The times were about to get harder as the Elwoods battled the elements and rising building costs in order to get their theater ready for paying customers.

Every window had to be replaced, and some had to be winched in by crane because the neighboring house is so close to the church they couldn’t just put scaffolding up the side of the building.

But now that the windows are once again air-tight, the roof repaired, the lights polished and shining, Vicki says it was worth the time and expense.

“It has a divine presence,” she said, never letting the couple forget the original purpose of their building.

From the beginning, the Elwoods felt blessed to be in a space of this magnitude and beauty. Though they didn’t have all the money they needed to accomplish the renovation immediately, they were willing to pace themselves.

“We mainly worked in the summers and falls because it was so expensive to heat it,” Vicki said.

They solved that problem, finally, when they found a furnace for sale on Craigslist, from a closed laundromat in Black River Falls.

Though there was much demolition and cleanup to accomplish and mounting bills clamoring to be paid, the Elwoods never lost faith.

“It was a wreck,” Vicki said, but then swept her hand through the church and pointed to the grand ceiling. “This is why we bought it.”

And that’s why they had rummage sales and sold off some of their furniture, she said. Things they had lugged around for years were sold so they could raise money bit by bit to complete the restoration.

“That’s a sheet of drywall,” Don would say as someone bought a piece of furniture or a bunch of tablecloths.

“We both have strong wills,” Vicki said, and are not afraid to work, which is why she knew eventually the theater would come to be.

“We had to wear masks and goggles (while cleaning up) because it was so moldy,” she said. “But we thought it was the coolest thing in the world.”

But neither of them thought it would take six years to open their doors.

“I think we thought a year,” Vicki said.

“I thought three years,” Don corrected with a laugh.

But they never panicked.

“When we had the money, we put it in,” Vicki said.

Along the way, they’ve built more than a theater, she said. They’ve built community relations, making friends with North Side business owners and neighbors of the old church. They learned to navigate city government and became acquainted with many construction workers.

And they enjoyed the journey.

“When you have the passion … ” Don said.

“We like the transformation,” Vicki said.

And that’s good, because the transformation will continue for many years, she said. The green room, makeup room and other backstage areas still need work. The space adjacent to the theater is destined to become something they will call The Backstage Cafe. And maybe, somewhere down the road, that attic will be transformed into living quarters.

For now, though, the couple is reveling in the first stage of the transformation, eager to start producing plays.