Sparks fly as a welder works on the stage; construction workers dig where an elevator will take patrons to a second-floor lobby. As layers of facade are removed, treasures are found in what was and will be the Newport Opera House, a vibrant performing arts venue.

Brenda Nienhouse is executive director of the Newport Opera House Theater and Performing Arts Center. She talks with excitement about the $18 million renovations and the vision for its future.

http://wadk.com/assets/podcaster/1013/2017_09_05_1013_61410_4433.mp3

This interview originally appeared on AM 1540 WADK.

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Frank Prosnitz

Frank Prosnitz brings to WhatsUpNewp several years in journalism, including 10 as editor of the Providence (RI) Business News and 14 years as a reporter and bureau manager at the Providence (RI) Journal. Prosnitz began his journalism career as a sportswriter at the Asbury Park (NJ) Press, moving to The News Tribune (Woodbridge, NJ), before joining the Providence Journal. Prosnitz hosts the Morning Show on WLBQ radio (Westerly), 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and It’s Your Business, also on WBLQ, Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

Prosnitz has twice won Best in Business Awards from the national Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), twice was named Media Advocate of the Year by the Small Business Administration, won an investigative reporter’s award from the New England Press Association, and newswriting award from the Rhode Island Press Association.