Michelle Bombardier, 2022年2月9日
本月，布朗大剧院(The 布朗大剧院)庆祝成立115周年th 生日. September 17, 1907, The Brown Grand opened its doors as New York’s Joseph M. 盖兹公司演出了这出音乐剧 范德比尔特杯. The production spent eight months at the Broadway Theatre in New York followed by three months at the Colonial Theatre in Chicago before premiering at The Brown Grand. The Harry Steinberg Orchestra from Topeka accompanied from the orchestra pit. The musical brought to stage the Vanderbilt Cup Races that were popular at the time. It captivated the audience with revolving painted scenery behind two vintage racing cars that created the appearance of speeding along at high speed on stage. Stagehands pulled cables attached to each car to shift their positions as each driver as they took turns taking the lead. 镇上充满了兴奋的气氛. It was the first of many traveling theatre shows to take place at The Brown Grand for the growing audiences of Concordia.
Walking up the stairs through the double doors of the theatre and stepping onto the tiled lobby, one can feel the excitement of attending a show at the theatre. Imagining a white gloved usher escorting guests across the foyer and to their seats as the lights glowed in the audience, 穿着他们最好的衣服, and eager for a night of entertainment as you walk down the carpeted aisles, makes me wonder what it must’ve been like to experience the early days of the Brown Grand. It was known as the most elegant theatre between Kansas City and Denver and, 据华盛顿共和党报报道, 甚至超过了托皮卡! 看戏的人都穿着正装, 歌剧礼服, and had their carriages awaiting them outside the doors when the shows were over.
To put things into perspective of the time, 1907 in Concordia was bustling. The nation was expecting a prosperous year and optimism was strong in the Midwest. The 拿撒勒修道院 had been built just 5 years prior and the Chapel was completed in 1907. 康科迪亚将获得10美元,000 in just a few short weeks to begin building a Carnegie Library, 现在是云县历史博物馆的所在地. The early 1900’s saw many more large construction projects as well. You can just imagine all seeing projects coming to completion, 那些正在制作的, 看到社区的成长带来的兴奋. 旅客们从各地乘火车来到城里. 康考迪亚是铁路沿线的一个主要站点. People would get off the train and check into the Baron’s Hotel for the night, 许多工人, 一些人正在求职, and those who were just in town for a show for the evening before traveling back.
观察世界上正在发生的事情
- 巴拿马运河正在建设中.
- Ellis Island experienced the all-time busiest day of immigration in its operation on April 17th 有11745名移民. This will be the busiest year ever seen at Ellis Island, with 1.100万移民抵达.
- UPS成立.
- 出租车首先在纽约开始运营
- 凯瑟琳·赫本和约翰·韦恩出生了.
- Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first `Follies’ on the roof of a New York theater
- 小熊队首次赢得世界职业棒球大赛冠军.
- 1907年的大恐慌, 哪一次是银行挤兑, forded the New York’s Knickerbocker Trust Company to suspend operations. 2天后.P. 摩根和其他华尔街金融家, 创造25美元,000,000 pool to invest in the plunging New York Stock Exchange, averting a major American financial crisis and ending the Panic of 1907.
- 俄克拉荷马州成为一个州.
- The first electric ball drops on New Year’s Eve in Times Square.
开业四年后, 拿破仑·波拿巴·布朗上校, 谁和他的儿子出资建造了这个剧院, 伯爵, 去世了. 4个月后，他的儿子厄尔去世了. 留给他们的妻子, 谁对戏剧不感兴趣, 布朗格兰德很快被卖给了市政府. Unable to handle the financial burden, the city gave it back to the Brown family. 到1925年，电影成为新的潮流和剧院. 现在在新主人手中, 布朗格兰德变成了电影院, 结束了多年来的现场表演.
成长的过程中, 修复后, I never knew the Brown Grand as anything other than its original purpose. I attended plays, musical performances, and performed there myself. 布朗格兰德是我最喜欢去的地方之一. It was beautiful inside and out and the acoustics were fantastic! 一个歌手的梦想. I never considered how fortunate I was to have performed there. So many people don’t have theatres of this grandeur as an everyday fixture. I found comfort on that stage over the years, but it never lost its awe walking thorough those doors. 一旦你走过铺着瓷砖的大厅地板, 你可能会产生一种崇敬之情, 但绝对是一种钦佩和尊重的感觉. You can feel the decades of incredible talent that have left their marks. You stand on that stage knowing you’re one of so many who stood in that same spot bringing joy, 笑声, 观众们甚至流下了眼泪. 能参与其中是我的荣幸.
当我们接近115时th Birthday Celebration and the preparations have begun, I urge you to stop in for a tour. Melissa Swenson is an incredible asset to the Brown Grand and the community. 她给我们做了一次不可思议的旅行. If you haven’t had a chance to meet her, be sure to stop in and introduce yourself. 我们真的很幸运能请到她. Be sure to attend one of the many events happening this coming season, 包括9月17日的生日狂欢th. As you walk up those stairs through the foyer and into your seats, take a look around. 体验戏剧. Acknowledge the rich 历史 of our community and the incredible performances that have taken place here for 115 years. 想象一下1907年的情景. 看戏太棒了，不容错过. I’m not sure this community fully comprehends just how impressive the legacy, 历史, 布朗格兰德的传统是. 它不仅仅是一个活动场所. 这是一个真正的剧院, its massive façade a testament to the incredible growth and resilience of Concordia over the years. It is a humbling reminder that despite any difficulty or challenges we face, 我们可以昂首挺胸, 持有公司, 战胜世界上任何想要抛给我们的东西. 我们的社区, 在过去的115年里，一次又一次, 在这个剧院里有过很多次亲密接触吗. 不仅仅是因为我们想要娱乐, 而是因为我们需要记住我们是谁, 我们从哪里来, 以及我们所坚持的. Every generation for the past 115 years has seen The Brown Grand through different eyes. 也许是时候再看一遍了, 通过新的视角, and introduce it to a new generation who will be entrusted with its care. To be a part of that, even if for a moment in time, is nothing less than phenomenal.
Be sure to join us at The Brown Grand for the 115th Birthday Bash! 2022年9月17日. 现在正在售票. 联系梅丽莎·斯文森(785)243-2553. 更多信息请访问www.browngrand.org或到位于310 W的剧院. 6th.
