Studio Theatre, which started over 40 years ago as a one-stage performance space in a former hot dog warehouse in Logan Circle, had a lot to show off this week thanks to a $20 million capital project.

The facility, which celebrated the grand opening of its renovated space Thursday, now includes renovated black box theater, an all-day café, a new HVAC system, and a dedicated rehearsal space for cast and crew to prepare for shows.

Studio’s executive director, Rebecca Ende Lichtenberg, said the building’s exterior has appeared fortress-like for too long, so the renovations will make it more of a welcoming space. The box office is now featured prominently on 14th Street and new murals adorn the facade. “One of the core tenets of the project is to open the building up to the community and create a vibrant neighborhood gathering space,” Lichtenberg said Thursday during the opening ceremony.

The renovated building now has two bright yellow beacons — a marquee above the main entrance in 6-foot-tall letters, and another long blade sign at the corner of 14th and P Streets. Those are meant to welcome audience members into the building that now includes the renamed Victor Shargai Theatre — formerly the Metheny Theatre — which honors the late Theatre Washington chairman and former Studio board member.

The Shargai Theatre gives Studio’s former black box space a high-tech upgrade, complete with LED lighting and a tension-wire grid that allows crew members to walk above the performers along the ceiling. It can be arranged into a thrust, in-the-round, or traverse stage, depending on the show. The first show to debut in the space is the forthcoming run of Pulitzer-winner Katori Hall’s The Hot Wing King (June 22-31), which is set in a house.

“It’s a double-level situation, which we always struggled to do in any of our old spaces,” Studio Theatre artistic director David Muse said in an interview. “So, that’ll be full-on proscenium. All of the audience will face one direction. There’s a little frame, and there’s a house on it — which is a very simple way to present a play and something we weren’t able to do here for many, many years.” Studio now has four performance spaces: Shargai; Mead; Milton; and Stage 4.

The new 1,100-square-foot café on the first floor will open this summer and be run by RĀKO Coffee Roasters out of Lorton, Virginia. With a 60-seat patio on P Street NW and an indoor loft area, the café is expected to be open to the public even when the theater is dark. RĀKO, which replaces Studio’s former Mead Bar, will serve a rotating menu of light fare, locally roasted coffee and espresso drinks, and a selection of alcoholic beverages.

Studio Theatre has been in its current building since 1987 and last renovated in 2004, when it expanded into two adjacent buildings. The arts organization broke ground last spring on the $20 million “Open Studio” project — more than $15.4 million of which is going toward design and construction of the renovation. The D.C. Arts Commission provided $3.8 million for the campaign, according to commission chairman Reggie Van Lee, and the project was also financed by Sandy Spring Bank. In all, Studio has raised $16.7 million of its goal and continues to raise funds, according to a spokesperson.

A number of local officials, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, outgoing Events DC chief executive Gregory O’Dell, Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto, and Van Lee, attended the opening ceremony Thursday. Bowser made brief remarks at the opening, touting the return of arts and entertainment events after two years of disruptions during the pandemic.

“While talking about theater is fun, it’s also important to the bottom line of our city,” Bowser said.

Studio is among nearly three-dozen local theaters that have a unified set of COVID-19 protocols, including an indoor mask mandate and vaccine requirement. Those requirements were recently extended through the end of April.