Fulton Theatre: Theatrical Excellence on Prince Street

8/11/2019 Fulton Theatre: Theatrical Excellence on Prince Street

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Several years ago, the PublicBroadcasting Service had a sloganthat stated, Minds Matter. In depthexploration of societal issues isimportant, not only for our own mindsbut also for the community spirit. FultonTheatres mission shares this attitude:

The mission of the FultonTheatre is to create and produceexceptional theatre that movesthe collective soul of ourcommunity and honors ournational historic landmark.

It is a bold statement that we nurturethe collective soul of our communitythrough entertainment. But theatre is

much more than apleasant way to passtime. Theatre is anactive engagementin someone elses

reality or fantasythat builds community

empathy, causes personal reflection andstrikes common passions.

Back in 2009, the Fulton produced thethriller Dial M for Murder.Duringthe run of that production, I heardfrom several audience members who

shared how personally horrified theyfelt as they watched the unsuspectingMargot Wendice walk toward the drawncurtains knowing that the murdererwas waiting behind them ready tostrangle her. They said that they wereeven more frightened and interestinglyashamed than when they watchsuspense films. I think the reason is thatparticipating in theatre is an activeprocess. Unlike film and television (andeven visual art), the audience is the

curator of the artistic experience and avocal (or silent) participant. You as anaudience member decide where youwill focus your attention on stage and

your soul bears that responsibility. If youconcentrate on the murderer behind thecurtain and dont scream out to save theMrs. Wendice from doom, your silence

builds strong inner conflict. There is noright or wrong reaction to a theatricalperformance, only self-discovery and(we hope) sharing. Because, at leastin the Fultons case, performances takeplace in a theatre building, communalsharing happens naturally. Try watchinga comedy film at home alone. You mightlaugh, but not as freely or as sustainedas you would in a packed movie theatre.And youll be aware of the pauses thatare built into the action and dialogue foraudience response. When we come tothe theatre and laughtogether, gaspat the same action, applaudfor astunning dance move or remain stillat the end of a touching song, we arebuilding common links to everyone elsein attendance.

Unfortunately, we are bombarded dailywith messages of what divides us, andthe media culture tries to force us topick sides on every social issue. Howrefreshing to participate in a socialexperience, theatre, that allows us todraw personal conclusions while at thesame time celebrating our shared desireto be one with the community. Oftenthe theatre will spark a lively discussionon the ride home, but because weveenjoyed the same event together, our

dialogue is typically an exercise tounderstand one another rather than aneffort to win a debate.

All of us at the Fulton are thrilled tobe able to create theatrical art in thiswonderful community and in such aninspiring building. Even more thrillingis the fact that the community has

responded positively to the work thatour artists are creating. More than250 actors, directors, designers,

choreographers, musicians, technicians,carpenters, stitchers, playwrights,composers, stage managers andadministrators consider the Fulton theirartistic home every season. We hope that

you will join with us and help prove that

theatre matters.

Aaron A. Young, Managing Director

2 SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 FULTON THEATRE Lancaster, Pa


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Lancaster, Pa FULTON THEATRE SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 3

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By Marc Robin, Artistic Director

Two of the biggest misconceptions about the FultonTheatre are: 1. our productions are travelling showsthat get booked into our lovely venue and 2. thatwe can produce any play we want whenever wewant to. When I am meeting with people from thecommunity or chatting with our subscribers, oneof the most common questions I get is when are

you going to do Wicked? orJersey Boys orMamma Mia or fill in the popular title here.

The truth is I would love to add any one of those

shows to one of our upcoming seasons. Andhopefully, I will soon! If we booked in touring shows,we might be able to get one of those titles if thenational tour was coming around. But, we produceall our shows right here in Central Pennsylvania.Our scenic, props, and costume departments are allstaffed with trained professionals who live right in

Lancaster County.Our actors, manyof whom are local,live in town whilethe show is in

rehearsal and onstage. Unless wehave partnered

with another regional theatre on a production, whena show closes at the Fulton, it is gone forever.

The other factor in picking plays and musicals for aseason is that sometimes the rights to produce a

particular show simply are not available from thelicensing company. One such reason is that theFulton is considered competition for Broadway. Every

year, I try to get the rights to produce Chicagoandevery year the answer is no. But I will keep trying!

But, for our 2014/2015 Season, we have beenable to assemble an amazing lineup, starting withthe hilarious comedy by York County native KenLudwig, Lend Me a Tenor. At the holidays, we havean all-new stage adaptation of the classic film, Irving

Berlins White Christmas. It remains very faithful tothe film but still provides a few wonderful surprisesand the interior of the Fulton will become a winterwonderland! In January and February, its the perfecttime for a murder mystery. So, the Queen of Crime,Agatha Christie is back with the thriller And ThenThere Were None. Our production of Mel BrooksYoung Frankensteinlast season was so immenselypopular that this year we have his first Broadwaymusical based on the first movie he directed, TheProducers. Next, we have another musical basedoff a great movie, The Full Monty. This show is filled

with such great heart and is so much fun, I reallycant wait to share it with our community. Finally,our Mainstage Season will come to a close withmy personal favorite show of all time that carriesso much meaning for me personally, The Wizardof Oz. Needless to say, it is going to be a feastfor the senses with flying monkeys, immense sets,hydraulics, projections. I can promise that you may

have seenThe Wizard of Ozbefore, but youvenever seen it like this!

But that is not all that is going to be on our stage.In conjunction with our Mainstage Series, wealso offer a Family Series of four one-hour longmusicals specifically tailored for families with youngchildren. This year, our season includes Nutcracker,Cinderella, Little Womenand Peter Pan. And, last

year we started our new Ellen Arnold Groff StudioSeries. This series, held in the Fultons 4th Floor

Studio Theatre, is designed to bring new works toLancaster. Last season, we held several new playreadings and will continue this season with readingsof What Souls Are These?and an all-new adaptationof the musical Ghost. But, we are also adding a fullyproduced staging of the new play Venus in Fur.

I hope that you will join us for at least one ofthese shows or sign up for a class. There aremany ways to be a part of the Fulton, and manyways to participate regardless of your budgetaryconstraints. From Pay-What-You-Want performances

to scholarships for Fulton Academy classes. There isalways a way to participate at the Fulton.

The absolute best way to engage with the Theatre is tobecome a Season Ticket Subscriber. Fulton subscriberscan save up to 40% off single ticket prices (its likeseeing two shows for free!) and you will see thingsthat you might have missed otherwise. When yourehere, theres magic. Dont miss a single moment!

Our scene shop

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19THCENTURY1852Christopher Hager, a city retailerand civic leader, builds Fulton Hallnamed for Robert Fulton, the Lancastrianof steamboat fame; it replaces the colonialprison that was the site of the ConestogaIndian tribe massacre.

1856Republican Party of LancasterCounty created on premises by addeusStevens.

1861-1864Fulton Hall hostsoccasional performances during the Civil

War, while the Lancaster Fencibles usethe building as an armor y, and the homeguard drills there. After the Battle ofGettysburg, it briefly serves as a hospital.

1865After the surrender atAppomattox, the Patriot Daughters holdbenefit performances at Fulton Hall

to raise money to build the Soldiers &Sailors Monument in Penn Square.

1873 Edwin Forrest Durang(descendant of Americas first actor,Lancaster born John Durang, and ancestorof modern playwright ChristopherDurang) remodels the interior into a trueperformance venue. October 2 a benefitperformance of Othello for orphans andwidows of the Civil War featuring famed

actor E.L. Davenport who calls the Opera

House, the most beautiful little templeof art in the United Statescertainly aperfect little gem.

20THCENTURY

1904C. Emlen Urban designs thecurrent neo-classical interior.

1907A spectacular production of Ben-Hur hits town, complete with live camelsand horses, and a breath-taking chariotrace, with two teams of horses runningfull gallop at the audience on a rumblingtreadmill.

Between the 1870s and the 1920s, bignames grace the stage, including MarkTwain; Edwin and Junius Brutus Booth;

Maurice, Lionel and Ethel Barrymore;Helen Hayes; Sarah Bernhardt; MinnieMaddern Fiske; Fannie Brice; GeorgeM. Cohan; Douglas Fairbanks Sr.; James

ONeill; W.C. Fields; Al Jolson; SophieTucker; Spencer Tracy; the Ziegfield Follies;and John Phillip Sousa and his band.

1915With fewer traveling showsavailable, the Fulton turns to vaudevilleand burlesque.

1920sUnder a new owner, the Fultonbegins showing movies. Admission is 10cents for kids and 20 cents for adults.

1931

e Drama Club of Lancaster isformed and begins staging plays. ArtistCharles Demuth helps design stage settings.

1952ere is talk that thedeteriorating Fulton will be torndown and replaced with a parking

lot. Intelligencer Journal reporter JoeKingston does a series of articles aboutthe Fultons 100th anniversary, urgingthe theatres preservation and dubbingthe venerable building e Grand OldLady of Prince Street.

1957Despite the anniversary hoopla,

business is still dismal and the Fultoncloses. In August, papers of dissolutionare filed in court. Sketches for a multi-

level parking garage are drawn, butLancaster Mayor Kendig Bare refuses toissue a building permit. In October, theFulton reopens as Fulton Art eatreand a new movie screen is installed.

1959 Live theatre returns to the

Fulton from the initiative of theLancaster eatre Arts Association,a community theatre organization.

1963 e non-profit FultonFoundation is organized. NathanielE. Nat Hager (Hager departmentstore) whose great-grandfather(Christopher Hager) built FultonHall, is named president.

1964e still privately ownedFulton is sold to the foundation for

$55,000 with a mere $500 down payment.Mrs. Nathaniel (Helen) Hager and Mrs. J.Hale (Louise) Steinman organize a fund-raising variety show starring HermioneGingold, Dina Merrill, Chita Rivera andZachary Scott. Many civic organizationsassist the Fulton with regular fundraisingperformances including e JuniorLeague and the Kiwanis Club.

1965Lancaster Opera Workshopstages a production of Faust. LancasterSymphony Orchestra season ismoved from McCaskey High School

Auditorium to the Fulton under thedirection of Louis Vyner.

1968Actors Company of Pennsylvania isorganized and becomes a primary tenant.

1969e Fulton is named a NationalHistoric Landmark. Tadpole Players, a

childrens theatre g roup, is formed.

1971-72e Fulton SummerRepertory Company is formed. Franklin& Marshall College drama departmentprofessor-director Hugh Evans is artisticdirector; and the Company features aprimarily F&M student cast, includingfuture stage/screen/television star Treat

Williams.

Backstage workers are referred to as stage crew, due to the fact that many early stagehands were former sailors.They were particularly adept at tying knots and rigging flying scenery.

Before wireless headsets were invented, stage crew members would communicate cues to one another using whistles.To this day it is considered bad luck to whistle onstage as you might inadvertently cue a piece of scenery to come in on top of you.

Fulton Theatre seating capacity is 668.

The Fulton produces six Mainstage Seriesplays and musicals, four one-hour-long Family Seriesmusicals, and theEllen Arnold Groff Studio Series which features readings of new works and the fully produced play, Venus in Fur.

The Fulton operates a year-round Academy of Theatre, which provides classes and camps for acting, directing, and stagecraft.

FULTONTRIVIA

FULTONHISTORY

Lancaster Pa FULTON THEATRE SEPTEMBER 25 2014 5


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1973Fulton Opera House Guild is

formed. e theatre celebrates its 100thAnniversary as a legitimate theatre.Travelogue Series begins, and later issponsored by Lancaster Lions Club.

1976John Housemans e ActingCompany in residence at the Fulton.Patti LuPone and Kevin Kline star in

e Robber Bridegroom.

1978Michael Endy is hired to directFultons childrens theatre company,Fulton & Company, and replaces the

longtime Tadpole Players.

1983e Fulton hires KathleenCollins as the theatres first full-timeartistic director and offi cially becomes aprofessional regional theatre, enteringinto an agreement with Actors Equity

Association.

1994-95After a capital campaign,the Fulton is closed for a $9.5 millionrenovation. It reopens in 95.

1995-96e Fulton eatreCompany merges with Actors Companyof Pennsylvania.

1999Michael D. Mitchell is hiredas the Fultons second artistic director.During his tenure, attendance increases

76 percent.

21STCENTURY

2002All mainstage productions areproduced under contract with ActorsEquity Association. e theatrecelebrates its 150th anniversary season.

2003e Fulton receives the first everOutstanding Restoration award from theLeague of Historic American eatres.

is award recognizes the impact thata restoration has on the community in

subsequent years. e runner up is theNew Amsterdam eatre renovated bythe Walt Disney Company on New Yorks42nd Street. Fulton inaugurates Family

eatre Series with an endowed gift fromBarbara and Charles Eichmann.

2008At a White House ceremony,the Presidents Committee on the Artsand the Humanities awards a 2008Coming Up Taller Award to the Fultons

Youtheatre program, under the directionof Barry Kornhauser.

2009Marc Robin hired as Fultonsthird artistic director. A productionofLes Misrablesbreaks all records forincome and attendance.

2014Every show in the 2013-2014season sets new ticket sales record forits respective time slot, includingLes

Misrableswhich outperformed the 2009version by 16 percent.

The Fultonhas been earning standing ovations for

162 years.

Photo of Stephen Berger inFiddler on the Roof.Photo by Michael Falco.


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6 SEPTEMBER 25, 2014 FULTON THEATRE L , P

Arich history fills the Historic Fulton Theatre with manytheatrical memories and entertaining ghost stories.Named for one of Lancasters most famous

sons, Robert Fulton, the Fulton has gone through manyrenovations while remaining one of the oldestcontinuously operating theatres in America.

In 1852, the Fulton Hall wascommissioned by Christopher Hager, whois known for Hagers Department Store

on King Street. Constructed on thesite of Lancasters pre-Revolutionaryjail, Fulton Hall was a flat-flooredhall that served as a communitymeeting space.

The first renovation occurred in1873 and which inspired theEuropean-styled opera housethat is seen throughout the

building today. The originalseating arrangement was oneaisle down the center withseats on the right and left sides.Subsequently the center aislewas removed and replacedwith two side aisles. However,many actors have reportedseeing a white mist flow from the

back of theatre towards the stage,especially on opening nights. Somesay that they were seeing the spirits ofold theatre patrons walking down thecenter aisle, looking for their seats.

In 1904, a second renovation was done byArchitect C. Emlen Urban who designed theGreist Building and Watt & Shand. And in 1990,the Fulton Opera House Foundation Board of Trustees

launched the Landmark Campaign to raise funds for athird major renovation, and in 1995 restored the theatre to its originalVictorian elegance.

During the 1995 renovation, the legend of The Whistler was born.A carpenter working in a stairwell between the second and third floorsthat had been closed off for many years suddenly ran screaming fromthe theatre and onto Prince Street. A mounted police officer chasedhim down and subdued him. When asked what was wrong he saidthat a man in a light colored suit, wearing brown shoes and a straw

boater hat walked up to him and asked him for a cigarettethen he

just disappeared right before his eyes. While his employers may nothave believed his story, the carpenter had a spotless work history and

the company let him keep his job. But, he refused to return to thetheatre to finish working on the renovation. Other theatre

employees have since reported sightings of the specter,and some actors claim that strange whistling and

clapping coming from backstage caused them tomiss a line.

Like any good ghost story, the Fulton used

to have a creaky wooden spiral staircaseleading from stage to the green room,where the actors can relax while notonstage. Footsteps were sometimesheard on the staircase, but no onewould be there. Several actors andstagehands reported seeing a womanin a white dress hovering around thebottom of the steps or at the top ofthem stage right. A stagehand whohad grown up in Gettysburg, PAand was used to ghosts and ghoststories, saw her and asked what hername was. She said Marie.

Researchers scoured the Theatrearchives at the New York PublicLibrary and discovered that an actressnamed Marie Cahill had performed

many times at the Fulton. She alwaysappeared in white, was born when FultonHall became the Fulton Opera House

and died when the theater started showingmovies. Some more research revealed that she

was considered a difficult person to work withand might have become more famous had she not

quarreled with so many directors. So, perhaps Mariecontinues to hang around the Fulton, waiting to make

her next entrance and still waiting for her big break.

Since the staircase was removed in 1995 there have beenfewer Marie sightings.

If you have a desire to dress likeMarie, the Whistler, or anyother ghostly characters callthe Fultons Costume RentalShop at (717) 394-3234 to see

the extensive collection.

The Fulton Remains a Popular Hauntamong ActorsBy Anthony Lascoskie, Jr., Costume Shop Manager

Marie Cahill



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By attending live theatre as part of our Family Series on Saturday mornings or School Day Matinee Series, a child tries on the social or procedural skillsnecessary when in a public setting. ey demonstrate a respect for a community space, and they also develop empathy, creativity, flexibility and thecapacity to read the nuances of communication. Live theatre is a transformative experience! But our programs are more than live-theatre.

CLASSES Fulton eatre offers a wide range of professional theatre instruction over the course of four semesters for students from age 4 throughadult. Academy theatre classes develop skills such as collaboration, communication, problem solving and creativity, to prepare young people for

performance, college and work. Whether a child wants to hone his artistic technique and skills, or you want her to cultivate her artistic literacy or self-esteem, Fulton eatre invites you to come and grow with us!

Sophia Steed, a 5-year Academy student who was recently seen in Les Misrables, notes that the teachers are enthusiastic about learning and makeeverything fun. My Fulton classes have taught me that acting is fun! ey have boosted my self-confidence, enabled me to make friends, and equippedme to easily speak in front of large groups of people. I went from performing on a small platform upstairs 4 years ago to performing on the main Fultonstage. I love my Fulton family!

One of our hottest programs is our Teen Lounge! For just $20, teens can see the Mainstage Series production and learn from a production teammember in a one-hour workshop. e artist takes the group on a tour and shares challenges the team had in mounting the production.

INCLUSIVENESS Fulton eatre welcomes all abilities and needs. We provide resources to studentswho have medical and learning concerns and disabilities, and have worked with children with autism,

Down syndrome, ADHD, and shyness. Our motto is that every child has a need. By partnering withthe child and his family, we learn who needs encouragement to overcome reluctance to participate orsupport to share the spotlight with others. We are dedicated to removing access barriers to all Fultonprogramming. Financial aid is available to students who demonstrate a strong financial need,and we offer a Sensory Friendly Program for families with a child with autism or sensory challenge.

IN THE SCHOOLS Neighborhood Bridges, a critical literacy program, is a residency programfor schools and community centers. Developed by the Childrens eatre Company of Minneapolis,Bridges has been recognized by the US Department of Education as an effective arts integration model.

A Fulton teaching artist collaborates with the classroom teacher. Together they use storytelling,creative writing and theatre arts strategies to turn classrooms into communities where students thinkindependently and work collectively. Last year, Suzanne Reed, a second grade teacher at Fritz Elementary,

shared, (my students) are stretched to create parts of stories through acting and writing and see themselvesas confident storytellers. With the diversity of the curriculum and [the teaching artists] kid-friendlyand encouraging approach, student personalities shine and bloom in surprising ways!

COMMITTEE Our goals and priorities are transformed in response to the many dedicated voiceson our Community Engagement Advisory Committee. We need representatives from all sectors of ourcommunity youth, parents, educators, youth providers, librarians, social services workers, administratorsand other community stakeholders. Fulton eatre wants to be relevant to the community, and the only way

to do that is to partner with the whole city! By Jennifer Ridgway, Director of Community Engagement

FOOTLIGHTS

BeyondTHEShows at the Fulton are just the tip of the iceberg of a thriving arts organizationthat is creating enthusiastic engaged citizens in our community.




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Fulton Theatre: Theatrical Excellence on Prince Street

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