Historic performance venues
Old is new again as regional groups restore the past to host today’s performers in refurbished venues
Older theatre ventures offer a special experience lacking in more modern settings. Early entertainment venues, whether movie houses, stages for live theatre or varietal venues that offered a plethora of entertainment to folks prior to home TVs and mass media, were community gathering spots as well as places to go see the newest shows. In many cases, they included grand marquees and elaborate interiors. People would gather, often in finery, and enjoy lively and memorable evenings out. We still gather for music, theatre and art, although many of the larger venues lack the ambiance that make so many of the smaller theatres of the by-gone days so very special. As more theatres (and other spaces) return to intrigue and entertain, perhaps we can recapture that magic of the past.
The Sampson Theatre ~ Penn Yan, NY:
The Sampson Theatre is a highly visible anchor in the Penn Yan village commercial district located at 126 East Elm Street. It is an architecturally and historical significant theatre, a rare surviving example of a vaudeville house. It was built in 1910 by a local benefactor, Dr. Frank Sampson.
For 20 years the Sampson was the center of entertainment and live stage productions in Penn Yan. The Trombley family gifted the Sampson to PYTCo in 2004 with the purpose to return the building to its original use as an entertainment center.
The Sampson was “built in 1910, and is an early example of a “poured concrete” building, containing over 50,000 cubic feet of concrete. With 2 balconies and 12 boxes, it seated over 900. The stage is 58 feet wide and 36 feet deep with a “fly space” height of 55 feet to the gridiron. Reportedly, this provided ample space for elaborate scenery from the New York City playhouses that could not be accommodated in any Rochester or Elmira theater. The proscenium is 32 feet wide by 25 feet high, and the back row of seating was only about 45 feet from the stage. It is said that there wasn’t a bad seat in the house.”
PYTCo’s fall production this year will be Wizard of Oz, and it just so happens that Ray Bolger (who played the Scarecrow) and Jack Haley (who played the Tin Man) BOTH performed at the Sampson Theatre in the early 1900’s when it was functioning.
Help the rebuilding by attending…
THE 2ND ANNUAL SAVE THE [Sampson] THEATRE Concert Fundraiser – with proceeds to benefit the Penn Yan Theatre Company-PYTCo. Friday, August 10, 2018 at 2 pm – 8 pm ~ Penn Yan Firemans Carnival. Tickets: stst2.brownpapertickets.com
Last year they raised and donated $1,800 to the Sampson Theatre Restoration project.This years live music line-up includes Whiskey Shivers (Bluegrass/Americana – from Austin TX) featuring DCS allumni; Bobby Fitzgerald and Evan Dillon Band (Singer-Songwriter – Finger Lakes, NY) performing with his full band! Also performing will be: My Cat Jack & The Season (acoustic). With more Te Be Announced!
Theatre @ 37 ~ Perry, NY:
Theatre@37 is another local theatre created in a refurbished and repurposed building. The new theatre, which opened in December 2017, is the permanent home of Shake on the Lake and hosted this year the first NYS Puppet Festival (next one in 2020). Theatre and puppet artist Josh Rice, who grew up in Perry, is the driving force behind this storefront turned theatre, made possible, in part, by a grant from the Rural Arts Initiative. Rice was awarded $35,000 to secure the space and create an atmosphere for artists to explore and refine their craft. It is a vibrant art space that, like so many others, shows what can happen when artists seek to create spaces for other artists.
Shake on the Lake presents Shakespeare’s Richard III for their 2018 performances. Richard III is Shakespeare’s masterful history of England’s last medieval king. In true Shake on the Lake style, the show will be fast, fun, and physical performances that take around eighty minutes. Although a shorter version of Shakespeare’s classics, Shake on the Lake’s performances focus on staying true to the spirit of the stories while also including elements of improv comedy, audience interaction, and physical theatre.
Shake on the Lake will visit numerous Genesee Valley locations as well as their main stage of Silver Lake – between July 26 and August 11. All shows are free to the public – and start at 6:30 p.m. – with the exception of the Ellicottville show (8/10 at 8:00 p.m.) and a matinee at Silver Lake (8/4 at 2:00 p.m.). For more information on the schedule visit www.shakeonthelake.org.
The Riviera Theater ~ Geneseo, NY:
Riviera Theater has had a long history of movies and community involvement in Geneseo. It dates back to the 1900’s. As time passed by, small town theaters lost their luster and their importance to their communities around them. In the mid 1990’s the Rivera Theater shut its doors and kept them shut for the next 20 years.
In 2013 Palace Properties was able to purchase the old theater with the hopes to bring the Riviera back to life and be a part of the town it once was. With a life time of experience, the owners of Palace Properties decided to restore the theater to a multi-use performing arts center, which as history has shown, was the past of the Riviera Theater.
The new venture figures to have something to offer for everyone. Being able to function as a lecture hall, concert hall, receptions, movies, or even small theater productions, this will ensure the Riviera Theater will live again.* Upcoming events at Geneseo Riviera include:
An Evening of Blues featuring Joe Louis Walker & Johnny Rawls – Live – (presented by Fanatics Pub- see related ad page 6) on Sunday August 19, 2018; starting at 6 pm;
Sugar Mountain: Celebrating the Genious of Neil Young on October 12th at 8 pm; and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams, November 10th at 8 pm. They also offer regular showings of historic and more recent movies.
The Geneseo Riviera is located at 4 Center St., Geneseo, NY 14454. The box office is open Mon – Sat 9 am-9 pm and Sun 11 am-8 pm – Phone: 585-481-0036 or geneseoriviera@yahoo.com * Information from their website: http://geneseoriviera.com/
The Star Theatre ~ Dansville, NY:
Star Theatre first opened in June of 1921, playing 35mm Black and White Silent Films. The first “Talking” film played there in 1927.
The Star ceased to shine and closed in the mid 80’s and time took a toll on the Theatre. In 1994 the Theatre was reopened by The “Schmidt” Family on 28 Oct, with Upgraded 35mm “Platter Mounted Projection. In 2011 The Star Theatre was recognized as Livingston County Small Business of the Year and the Star also switched to Digital Projection and Dolby Digital Surround Sound on 30 November 2012.
They feature today’s current movies in a historical movie house setting nightly at 7 pm with matinees Wednesdays at 1 pm and Saturday / Sunday at 3 pm. Information at www.startheatredansville.com. Check for Special Showings.
Little Lakes Community Center ~ Hemlock, NY:
One of the “gems” of the Little Lakes Community Center in Hemlock, NY is the stage. The stage borders one side of the gymnasium, a typical design for schools built in the early part of the 20th century. Classrooms in the school are off central hallways that surround the gym-natorium on two floors. The building – formerly the Hemlock School – was designed in the 1920’s by Carl Ade, a well-known architect in the area at that time. It now has a new life as the Little Lakes Community Center, with its gym-natorium newly dedicated to Jack Evans, the local benefactor who originally bought the school and gave it to the Town.
The stage can easily accommodate an orchestra, a chorus, or the scenery and a large cast for a dramatic production. It has doors to the rear of the stage so performers can enter without view of the audience, as well as stairs on both sides in front for access from the floor. The acoustics from the stage have been improved by installing a used stage curtain donated by Honeoye Central School, which was re-sewn by dedicated volunteers from LLCA and hung on scaffolding built by the LLCA’s “Brother Building Boys.” An audience of over a hundred can easily fit on seats on the gym floor, which can just as easily serve as a basketball or volleyball court.
The LLCA has worked tirelessly for several years to convert the under-used Jack Evans Community Center (old Hemlock School) into a true community resource, with events and on-going activities for visitors and community members alike, rentals for area groups and businesses, and recreational opportunities.
Numerous events sponsored by LLCA have already taken advantage of the stage and gym, including several concerts, the most recent being Richie and Rosie in June, and an upcoming concert with the Brothers Blue on Saturday, August 11 at 6 pm. The gym-natorium’s versatility allows it to be used for numerous educational and recreational gatherings as well as performances. Theatre is a part of the LLCA Steering Committees’s plans and they will be sponsoring a production in the near future.
For more information check out www.LittleLakesNY.org or FaceBook – @littlelakesny. You may also call the center at 585-367-1046 or text/call 585-455-2518.
Bristol Valley Theater ~ Naples, NY:
What is now Bristol Valley Theater (BVT) was originally founded in 1964 as Bristol Valley Playhouse on Seman Road, north of Naples, by George and Mary Sherwood. After twenty-two years, stewardship was taken over by a not-for-profit foundation, The Friends of Bristol Valley Playhouse. In 1991, the original playhouse “on the hill” closed its doors, and the Friends purchased the vacated Trinity Federated Church on Main Street in Naples.The transformed church turned theatre space opened its doors for the 1992 summer season and continues to offer the community of Naples and theatre-goers across the region professional performing arts.
The Friends of Bristol Valley Playhouse Foundation, Inc. (doing business as Bristol Valley Theater) are a not-for-profit corporation whose mission is: “To produce life-affirming theater for a diverse rural and regional audience; To present a variety of performing arts; [and] To provide training to young actors and offer scholarships for that training based on need and merit.” They believe that theatre should be a part of everyone’s life and that performing arts are an essential component of a vibrant communty and, along with many other regional performing arts venues, have remained dedicated to that goal.
The 2018 summer season continues with with The Drowsy Chaperone. The Drowsy Chaperone is a “rip-roaring comedic send-up of the early days of Broadway. The world’s biggest musical theater fan, referred to as the Man in Chair, will introduce you to his favorite long lost musical from 1928.” Performances run from July 26-August 5 at the theater at 151 S. Main Street in Naples.
For reservations and information, visit www.bvtnaples.org.