 The Murphy Theatre in 2012 | |
 | |
| Address | 50 W. Main St. Wilmington, Ohio United States |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 39°26′42″N83°49′46″W / 39.4451044°N 83.8294098°W Coordinates: 39°26′42″N83°49′46″W / 39.4451044°N 83.8294098°W |
| Capacity | 769 |
| Construction | |
| Opened | July 24, 1918 |
| Reopened | January 17, 1934 |
| Website | |
| themurphytheatre | |
The Murphy Theatre is a historic theatre located at 50 West Main Street in Wilmington, Ohio.
Chicago Cubs owner and Wilmington native Charles Murphy financed the construction of the Murphy Theatre. [1] Charles Murphy hired Eveland Construction Company from Cincinnati, Ohio, to build the theatre and construction began in 1916. [1]
The construction of the Murphy was a massive undertaking. Over 175 cars were used in the construction. The materials used in the construction included: 1 car of metal lathe and tile, 17 cars of hollow tile, 19 cars of solid brick (850,000), 2 cars of terra cotta, 4 cars of lumber, 2 cars of brick-layers cement, 12 cars of cement, 3 cars of lime, 4 cars of plaster, 2 cars of reinforcing steel rebar, 10 cars of structural and ornamental steel, 2 cars of cinders, 1 car of cut stone, 70 cars of sand and gravel, 3 cars of mill work, 4 cars of material for heating system and 1 car of material for electrical work. It also included the lights, curtains, and ropes. [1] Charles Murphy hired The Mandel Brothers, a prestigious interior decorating firm from Chicago, to decorate the interior. [2] The total cost of the undertaking was in excess of $250,000 (equivalent to $4,503,872in 2021). [1] [2]
The theater had a half-barrel foyer ceiling, a carved ornamental plaster with a continuous row of Cupid heads, a lobby decorated with a sunburst chandelier, marble floors, and polished oak doors; and three painted stage curtains with pictures of Betsy Ross, Nathan Hale, and Patrick Henry. [2] [3]
The theatre also had a modern self-regulating air ventilation system and an electrical system that included 15 miles of electrical wiring and a massive switchboard. [3] After inspecting the theatre the state fire marshal remarked, "Until now the Colonial of Dayton was the finest theater in Ohio, but it now must take second place to this fine amusement palace. It is a revelation to me. Why there is not enough to burn here to start a grate". [1]
The theater officially opened on July 24, 1918. Famous acts such as Say! Young Fellow starring Douglas Fairbanks and Good Night, Nurse! starring Fatty Arbuckle were performed on the opening day. [4] 2,000 seats sold for 15 cents each and 1,000 seats sold for 10 cents each. Over 3,000 people filled the building. Ticket sales totaled $1,216.72. Sometime after the grand opening Charles Murphy had this to say about the opening: "That opening handed me the greatest surprise and delight of my life. Where did all the people come from? I have seen many large crowds - some of them at the world's series netting me thousands of dollars—but none gave me the real pleasure I got Wednesday. No man's vocabulary can do it justice." [1]
On January 15, 1934, a fire caused considerable damage to the theatre. The fire is believed to have started from a burning cigarette thrust against the motion picture screen. The fires started at the lower right corner of the picture screen and spread rapidly to the scenery. The people at the theatre were unaware that there was a fire. The asbestos curtain was dropped hurriedly and kept the flames back stage. Firemen battled the flames for more than an hour. The Betsy Ross scenery, two complete scenery sets and 56 sets of line were destroyed. Sound equipment and screens were destroyed at a cost of estimated at $5,000. Insurance covered the cost of the damages. [5]
On January 17, 1934, the Murphy Theatre re-opened. New 'talkies' equipment and a new and larger picture screen were installed. [6]
Notably, local filmmaker Kroger Babb's controversial 1945 exploitation film Mom and Dad was shown several times in the Murphy Theatre, featuring live appearances by "hygiene commentator" Elliott Forbes, played by various Wilmington residents. Mom and Dad was added to the National Film Registry in 2005, due to its distinction as "[t]he most successful sex-hygiene exploitation film of all time, a low budget but relentlessly promoted, socially significant film, which finished as the third highest grossing film during the 1940s." [7]
Today the Murphy Theatre is a non-profit theatre and serves as a community center. The theatre has 682 seats. On September 18, 1999, the Murphy Theatre hosted the wedding of actors John Ritter and Amy Yasbeck. [8]
The Murphy has been host to nationally acclaimed acts such as the Von Trapp Children. In 2010, the Murphy hosted conservative commentator Glenn Beck and broadcasts of his radio and television programs. [9] Every year around Christmas time, the theater holds a show called The Murphy Christmas Show, showcasing such acts as dance troupes, barbershop quartets, children's choirs, and the Wilmingtones from Wilmington High School.
The theater can be seen in the films Lost in Yonkers and Michael Moore in TrumpLand .
Wilmington is a city in and the county seat of Clinton County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,660 at the 2020 census. At city entrances from state routes, county roads, and U.S. highways, the city slogan of "We Honor Our Champions" is seen, accompanied by signs that highlight various athletic accomplishments from Wilmington individuals and teams. The city features a weather forecast office of the National Weather Service, which serves all of Southwestern Ohio and portions of Kentucky and Indiana.
Johnathan Southworth Ritter was an American actor. Ritter was a son of the singing cowboy star Tex Ritter and the father of actors Jason and Tyler Ritter. He is known for playing Jack Tripper on the ABC sitcom Three's Company (1977–1984), and received a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for the role in 1984. Ritter briefly reprised the role on the spin-off Three's a Crowd, which aired for one season, producing 22 episodes before its cancellation in 1985.
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A safety curtain is a fire safety precaution used in large proscenium theatres. It is usually a heavy fibreglass or iron curtain located immediately behind the proscenium arch. Asbestos-based materials were originally used to manufacture the curtain, before the dangers of asbestos were widely known. The safety curtain is sometimes referred to as an iron in British theatres, regardless of the actual construction material.
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Amy Marie Yasbeck is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Casey Chappel Davenport on the sitcom Wings from 1994 to 1997, and for having played the mermaid Madison in the television film Splash, Too in 1988. She has guest starred in several television shows and appeared in the films House II: The Second Story, Pretty Woman, Problem Child, Problem Child 2, The Mask, Robin Hood: Men in Tights, and Dracula: Dead and Loving It.
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The Betsy is a 1978 American romantic drama film directed by Daniel Petrie, from a screenplay by William Bast and Walter Bernstein, based on the 1971 novel of the same name by Harold Robbins. It stars Laurence Olivier as a retired auto tycoon, with Robert Duvall, Katharine Ross, Tommy Lee Jones, and Jane Alexander in supporting roles.
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The Croswell Opera House is a historic theater located at 129 East Maumee Street in Adrian, Michigan. It is recognized as the oldest theater in the state and among the oldest continuously operating theaters in the United States. The theater was designated as a Michigan Historic Site on March 2, 1976 and later added to the National Register of Historic Places as the Adrian Union Hall-Croswell Opera House on April 18, 1985.
The Grand Opera House in Seattle, Washington, US, designed by Seattle architect Edwin W. Houghton, a leading designer of Pacific Northwest theaters, was once the city's leading theater. Today, only its exterior survives as the shell of a parking garage. Considered by the city's Department of Neighborhoods to be an example of Richardsonian Romanesque, the building stands just outside the northern boundary of the Pioneer Square neighborhood.
A front curtain, also known as a (front-of-)house curtain, act curtain, grand drape, main curtain or drape, proscenium curtain, or main rag is the stage curtain or curtains at the very front of a theatrical stage, separating it from the house.
The Sottile Theatre is a theater in downtown Charleston, South Carolina. It is owned by the College of Charleston and is a rental venue used by many local, regional and national performing arts groups including Spoleto Festival USA. It has 785 seats and was built in the 1920s by Albert Sottile.
The Teatro de la Ciudad was built as the Teatro Esperanza Iris in 1918 and is now one of Mexico City’s public venues for cultural events. The theater is located in the historic center of Mexico City on Donceles Street 36.
Duvetyne, or duvetyn, is a twill fabric with a velvet-like nap on one side. It may be woven from cotton, wool, or—in rare cases, mainly in the early 20th century—silk. Duvetyne has a matte finish and its high opacity makes it ideal for blocking light.
The Rosendale Theatre is a three-story, 260-seat movie theater and performance venue in Rosendale Village, a hamlet and former village in the town of Rosendale in Ulster County, New York. The building was opened as a casino in 1905, and began showing films in the 1920s. By the 1930s, a stage had been installed for live vaudeville and burlesque acts. The casino was eventually taken over by the local government, and used to house the town's fire department.
The Holyoke Opera House was a theatre operating in Holyoke, Massachusetts during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Built in 1877, and christened on March 25, 1878, the theater was built by then-mayor William Whiting who privately-funded its construction along with the adjoining "Windsor House" hotel. Designed by architect Clarence Sumner Luce, its interior was decorated by painter and designer Frank Hill Smith, who is best known today for the frescoes in the House of Representatives' chamber in the Massachusetts State House, and whose commission for the venue's main hall paintings has been described by the American Art Directory and historian John Tauranac as one of his definitive works.
The Embassy Theatre, also known as the Embassy 1 Theatre, is a former movie theater at 1560 Broadway, along Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Designed by Thomas W. Lamb, the theater opened in 1925 at the ground floor of 1560 Broadway, the headquarters of the Actors' Equity Association. While no longer in use as a theater, the space is preserved as a New York City designated landmark, and it continues to operate as a store.
