Ramsdell Theatre: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

Tag: Reverted

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The Ramsdell Theatre building was constructed between 1902 and 1903 by the town's only lawyer Thomas Jefferson Ramsdell at a cost of $100,000, {{Inflation|US|100,000|1902|2019|fmt=eq}}. Architect [[Solon Spencer Beman]] was contracted to design the Ramsdell Theater structure. The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts considered that at the time the theater was constructed it was comparable to the best opera and vaudeville houses in the United States. The building, located at First and Maple Streets, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1972. The state of Michigan named the Theater as a [[Michigan Historic Site]] in 1980 and it presently serves as a local cultural center for the [[Western Michigan]] area.<ref name="present"/>

The general design has been described as [[Greek Revival architecture|Greek Revival]] or Grecian architecture<ref name=SAH>{{cite web |last1=Eckert |first1=Kathryn Bishop |title=Ramsdell Theatre and Hall |date=17 July 2018 |url=https://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/MI-01-MT1 |publisher=[[Society of Architectural Historians]]/[[University of Virginia Press]] |access-date=December 20, 2020}}</ref> and also as a classic [[Colonial architecture|Colonial design]].<ref name="present"/> Its front exterior is a design of red brick with [[Doric order|Doric columns]] supporting the flat [[colonnade]] over the main entrance to the building.<ref name=SAH/> The Ramsdell Theatre and the adjoining [[assembly hall]] called Ramsdell Great Hall are distinct buildings from each other, although built at the same time.<ref name="present"/>

The theater features a double balcony upstairs and private viewing boxes along the main floor. Its seating has been cut back to 462 from its original seating capacity of 1200 for fire safety. It has two boxes of seating located on each side ends of the stage and two additional ones in the lower balcony. The building has a hipped roof, [[Dentil|closely spaced teeth-like block]] [[modillion]] [[cornice]], a decorated center front with columns, round arched entrance, ornamental brick panels, and dome murals. An unusual feature of the interior is the balcony in the shape of a horseshoe which is supported by several pillars that extend to the tin plated ceiling.<ref name="present"/>

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During World War II the activity of the Civic Players dwindled to nothing. There were no theatrical productions for nine years. In this time there was much damage to the buildings due to lack of maintenance. In 1949, a group of women's clubs (Lakeside Club, Junior Lakeside Club, and Business and Professional Women's Club) formed the Civic Betterment Committee. The main objective was to restore the Ramsdell Theatre back to its original time when many plays were done each year.<ref name="present"/>

The Manistee Drama Festival was formed in 1951 and it opened with Ruth Gordon's ''Over 21''. The second production was ''George Washington Slept Here'' which cast local players. By this time a number of restoration objectives were accomplished by the profits from these productions. In the second season of the Festival, the Festival was renamed the Manistee Summer Theatre. [[Madge Skelly]] was hired as associate/assistant director and directed eight plays that same year. Skelly was named managing director in 1953, the same year that the city of Manistee purchased the theater and hall.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Staff |title=Summer Theater Act 2: Enter Madge Skelly |url=https://www.manisteenews.com/local-history/article/Summer-Theater-Act-2-Enter-Madge-Skelly-14227594.php |work=Manistee News-Advocate |access-date=December 20, 2020 |date=July 11, 2012}}</ref> Skelly was responsible for the Summer Theatre until 1961.<ref name="present"/> The Manistee Civic Players began producing three or four shows each year after 1963.<ref name=EarlyLife>{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title= Ramsdell Opera House is unusual theater in area |url= https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65672707/ |work= The Ludington Daily News| page= 5 |location=Ludington, Michigan|date= June 28, 1963 |via=[[Newspapers.com]] {{open access}} }}</ref> One of them each year is designated for a musical production and sometimes a second one.<ref name="present"/>

In 1953 actor [[James Earl Jones]] had his beginnings here as a stage carpenter and in the 1955 through the 1957 summer seasons he was an actor and stage manager.<ref name="spirit"/> His first portrayal of [[Shakespeare]]’s [[Othello]] was on stage in this theater in 1955.<ref name="present"/> He has returned twice to support fundraising efforts for the restoration project.<ref name="present">{{cite web |last1=Staff |title=Learn About Ramsdell Theatre History |url=https://ramsdelltheatre.org/history/ |publisher=The Ramsdell Regional Center for the Arts |access-date=March 18, 2021}}</ref> In 1990 the Ramsdell Restoration Committee was formed for fundraising and managing restoration. The Ramsdell Governance Committee was formed in 2005 by the business people of Manistee and the city took over the responsibility for the building in 2006.<ref name=NewCenturye>{{Cite web|url= http://manisteemi.gov/DocumentCenter/View/1413/Ramsdell-Theatre---A-New-Century|page=4 |title=The Ramsdell: A New Century|website=manisteemi.gov}}</ref>