“I regard the theatre as the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being.”
Oscar Wilde
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| Memorial Park |
Here
we are in quaint town of Newberry, South Carolina after our good
friends recommended this wonderful town to us. After hearing them
rave about it and telling us, you have to go and you will love it; we
decided to give it a go. We figured why not go and check it out so
we got in the car and headed there to spend the day, just a short
hour and a half ride from Augusta, Georgia down country road, highway 321. When we arrived in town, we parked downtown next to Memorial
Park, a lovely tree shaded park dedicated to those who served in our
Armed Forces.
The
historic Newberry Opera House sits prominently behind Memorial Park
and is a great example of French Gothic style of Victorian
architecture. This magnificent building was built in 1881 at a
cost of $30,000. To get an understanding of just how old this
building is, just imagine that it was built the same year that the
gunfight at O. K. Corral took place. The bricks from this building
were brought in from three local brickyards in Newberry County and
the granite came from a quarry that was located about two miles
outside of town.
We
strolled over to the front of the building to see if we could get inside and to see what event was happening as a band was setting up in front
of the main doors. When I got there I saw a sign displayed on the
door stating tours of the building are given in afternoons and it was
still mid-morning. About that time, two gentlemen came out of the
building and they asked if they could help me. I must have had a
puzzled look on my face. I told them I was hoping to get inside and to take some pictures. One of the men told me, “Sure, if you can wait
five minutes, I will gladly take you inside for a tour.” We were thrilled as we heard this is a very impressive and historic building.
Five
minutes later, he came back and took Joe and I inside for a grand tour. He
introduced himself as Mark Sanders, the Technical Director of the
Opera House. I asked what was happening in front of the Opera House and he told us they started to do mini concerts in front of the Opera House on Fridays at noon and they have named it Park Jam. What a great way to get people out to enjoy live music. He was delightful and told us many great stories and
facts about this historic Opera House. The lobby was wide open
and impressive. The concession stand was located in the lobby and an original
ticket stand was on display. Next to the ticket office is a grand seat of stairs leading up to the stage area. There was an interesting framed display of arrow heads near the
front door that were found on the property when the building was
being built. He told us how the original design for the first floor
had a fire engine room, council chambers, a clerk’s office, a
police officer, and three jail cells. It was later used as
government offices and now offices for the theater.
As
he walked us around, he introduced us to many staff members who were
all very friendly and nice even though they were busy setting the
schedule for the coming year. Mark took us upstairs and told us how
the theater was vacant from 1952- 1998. Some people spoke of tearing
the building down since it was in such disrepair. But the town came
together and agreed this building needed to be saved and they started
a major renovations in 1994.
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| New Loading Dock |
He
explained they added 10,000 square feet to the original building to
create a full theatrical production facility including a nice
rehearsal hall, new loading dock, elevator, and three new dressing
rooms. The total cost of the renovation was 5.5 million dollars.
Mark spoke very fondly of this theater and was proud of the great entertainers who
come here to perform.
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| Theater with some seats blocked for social distancing. |
We
walked out to the large 29’ x 52’ foot stage and saw the majesty
of the theater including the beautiful drop curtains. This theater
was gorgeous and has great acoustics. The stage looks out to an
auditorium that can seat 426 people and is 53’ x 52’ and is fully
loaded with state of the art equipment like lighting and sound.
Today, he explained why there were signs on some of the seats. That was so they could still have shows but social distance since
COVID 19. The theater now can only hold just over 200 people since
not all the seats can be used. Hopefully they will be able to get
back to normal next year.
I
walked down off the stage and walked around the theater. The stylish
red seats were very comfortable and I could see there wasn’t a bad
seat in the house. I could just imagine, back in the early 1900’s,
sitting here in the theater watching one of the silent movies or
Talkies that they showed here. Later, they showed movies here which
became a very popular thing to do in town on a Saturday afternoon.
The children loved cowboy movies, especially the ones that continued
to the following week. The last movie played here was “The Outlaw”
in 1952. Now they have popular artists, touring theater companies,
as well as local organizations use the theater for graduations and
meetings.
One
major hurdle they had to overcome was all the windows in the theater.
It was too bright for a theater and they needed to do something to
darken the room minus taking out all the windows which would have
drastically changed the outer appearance of the building. They came
up with a very unique idea. They added beautiful wooden shutters that
covered the windows from the inside while leaving the integrity of
the windows and the appearance of the structure the same from the
outside. The shutters added a warm touch to the theater. When the
major renovations were done, they added the horseshoe balcony which
added extra seating as well as beauty to the theater.
He
pointed out where the original building stopped and the new addition
started. After touring the theater, he took us to “the Green
Room.” What a fascinating place. This room is used as a
gathering area for the performers where they can eat and relax. It
became a tradition here where everyone signs the walls that performs here.
He said it has been signed by such people as Olivia Newton-John,
Marshall Tucker Band, Joan Baez, Glen Campbell, The Oak Ridge Boys,
Eddie Money, Glen Miller Orchestra, Willie Nelson, Art Garfunkel,
Kansas, and many more. I could have spent all day just looking at
the signatures.
As
we were talking in the lobby before we left, he told us, one
performer rode his horse upstairs to the stage for a guest
performance. After the show, the horse refused to go back down the
stairs. They ended up having to hoist the horse up and out a window to get
to him back to the ground. That must have been a sight to see.
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| Mark Sanders |
After
our tour, we walked outside where I was able to get a great picture
of Mark. What a nice man. He pointed up to the 130 foot clock
tower that stands proudly above the theater. There is a bell in the
tower that was placed there twenty years after the tower. The E. Howard Tower clock still keeps great time since 1900
and stands 90 feet above the ground. At the top of the clock tower
is a garfish weather vane with no explanation of why they put a garfish on top of this magnificent building. He told us he can climb all the way to the top of the tower
when repairs are needed. He bragged of what a great view there is
from up there.
This
building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in
1969. The Opera House has become known as “the Entertainment Center
of the Midlands.”
The
great thing about seeing a show here, is that there is a beautiful
Hampton Inn located right next door and plenty of great places to eat.
This is a lovely town and the Newberry Opera House is not to be
missed. We thoroughly enjoyed our tour as I hope you have. Thanks
again Mark for a fantastic tour. I hope you all enjoyed it as well.
Till
next time. Bye for now.
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