SARASOTA, Fla. -- Back in October, the Van Wezel Performing Arts Hall in Sarasota had to cancel shows through December because of damage from Hurricane Milton. Now, they're getting ready to reopen.

Ronald and Madeline Smith are practically regulars at the Van Wezel.

"We usually take in at least four, five, or six shows every winter season," Ronald said.

On Thursday, the couple snagged tickets at the box office to a show in January.

"It's just great entertainment," Ronald said.

"When we drove up, I was surprised to see that there was still damage," Madeline added. "That takes time to fix, but we really appreciate that they're back open."

The wait is only weeks away as the Van Wezel is set to have its first show back on Jan. 4.

Some areas of the facility saw up to four feet of storm surge from Hurricane Milton. The orchestra pit, kitchen, dressing rooms, and production offices were all impacted, and the roof was also damaged.

"We have not experienced damage like this after a hurricane," said Muffy Lavens, the public relations director at the Van Wezel. "Milton was definitely a different beast."

Weeks later, water lines still stain the walls.

While they're still going through the repair process, Lavens said they're estimating it'll be about $7 to $10 million in damages.

"Our season usually kicks off in October," Lavens said. "It was actually supposed to start about a week after Milton made landfall. Thankfully, we were able to reschedule about 10 of our shows into the spring schedule."

Crews have made significant progress working around the clock to get the Van Wezel back up and running.

"The day after Hurricane Milton, crews were in here pumping water out, and they began taking the carpeting out, ripping out the drywall," Lavens said. "Everything has been moving as quickly as possible so we can get reopened for shows."

For more information on upcoming shows at the Van Wezel, click here.

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