By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
The Live! in the House Concert series at the Pemberville Opera House will end by singing blues.
The April 11 show by bluesman and preacher Rev. Robert Jones, Sr., from Detroit will be the last performance in the concert series at the Pemberville Opera House. Carol Bailey, who is the founding director of the series, wrote in a recent press release about the concert: “Not only is this the last show of the season but for all intents and purposes, this is the last Live! In The House Concert Series.”
[Related: Rev. Jones to preach the blues gospel in a Pemberville Opera House show]
She continued: “After 17 years, the Pemberville Opera House will no longer be presenting its annual concert series. Audiences have dwindled over the past few years, and it is no longer financially prudent to continue on. Unable to recapture what was lost during Covid, and combined with rising costs, particularly the entertainers’ expenses, the Pemberville Freedom Area Historical Society will stop the series.”
The decision to put Live in the House “on hiatus,” she wrote in a later note, was difficult. “Before the pandemic the opera house was full or nearly so for every Live in the House event. People knew that the first Saturday of every month they could count on good entertainment at a reasonable cost and many people took advantage of that.”
Those performances featured a wide range of entertainment including Broadway tunes, classic rock, bluegrass and folk, jazz, comedy, classical, and silent movie screenings with live piano accompaniment.
“After Covid,” Bailey reported, “we just couldn’t seem to gain our audiences back. From my understanding, this is not an isolated issue. Many small entertainment venues have suffered the same fate, even larger venues have struggled.
“The dwindling audiences, along with the increased cost of entertainment have been devastating for us. While we haven’t yet ‘lost’ money, we are just sustaining….not profiting to where we can sustain the heat, lights, insurance and most importantly, the maintenance necessary for a 134 year old opera house.”
Rather than further strain the Historical Society’s finances, Bailey “opted to set the series aside.”
The venue will still host piano recitals, weddings and other events. “It is still available for rent.”
Two fall events are remain on the calendar.
On Sept. 20 the venue will host an America 250 event, “Ohio Goes to the Movies.” The “Ohio-centric “movie “The Wind” featuring Ohio star of silent movies, Lillian Gish, will be shown.
The screening will be introduced by two speakers.
Dr. Ralph Wolfe, a retired BGSU English professor and founder of film studies at the university, will speak on Lillian Gish’s impact on the silent movie industry. Then Michael Hurwitz, a noted historian from the Columbus area who studied under Gish at the NY Drama School and became her friend, will speak about his relationship with the legendary performer. He frequently visited her home.
Pianist Lynne Long will accompany the movie.
There will be a reception to follow with drinks and a grazing table.
This event is sponsored through a grant from Ohio Goes to the Movies and is free and open to the public.
On Oct. 17, the Carl Bentley Bluegrass Band will perform a benefit to help sustain the opera house.
