By Deb McKee
Members of the public can step into the 1915 Hippodrome Theater for a live theater performance to be staged there for the first time since 1948, as part of an effort to restore the building.
Known more commonly these days as the Scottish Rite Cathedral and Museum, the large ornamental structure on the southwest corner of Ohio and Eighth streets has been called one of the best-kept architectural secrets in Terre Haute.
Now it may become as well-known as the Indiana Theater or the former Terre Haute House, thanks to the efforts of some determined Scottish Rite members.
Doors open March 31 to April 2 to showcase a live production of “The Robe.”
The performance, co-directed by Jerry Burns and Judith Price, is being staged to raise money for restoration of the Hippodrome Theater/Scottish Rite Cathedral. If enough money is raised, Burns says, he will get approval from other Scottish Rite members to prepare for another production to be staged in the fall.
Burns, a 40-year Scottish Rite member, as well as an accomplished actor and musician, said the restoration project for the Hippodrome has been a labor of love.
“I’ve been at this for years,” he said. Burns, who speaks affectionately of the 60-foot fly-loft, the solid-plaster ornamental work inside the theater and the magnificent views from any seat, said he has a whole list of projects he wants to realize.
Some of those projects include a new lighting system (the current one has been in place since 1958), and updated air conditioning. Burns said the sound system is in good shape. The Hippodrome officially opened in 1915. Named for the Hippodrome Theater in New York City (a famous theater of the time), the local theater was designed by the Austrian-born architect John Eberson of Chicago, who also designed the Indiana Theater.
The structure is a style known as German Renaissance, and it is one of fewer than 20 Eberson-designed theaters remaining in the United States.
From 1915 to 1930, some of the world’s finest entertainers performed there, including Jack Benny, Al Jolsen, Ralph Bellamy and “Madame Doree’s Operalogue, featuring Seven Operatic Sweethearts.” The Hippodrome specialized in vaudeville. New York vaudeville barons at the time referred to the Hippodrome in Terre Haute as “a magnificent temple of amusement,” according to a history on the Scottish Rite’s Web site.
By 1922, when the Indiana Theater was built, most of Vigo County’s 18 or so theaters were showing silent movies. Vaudeville struggled to compete with film in the late 1920s, but the Hippodrome continued to bring vaudeville acts.
In 1931, a budding group of thespians, the Community Theatre of Terre Haute, moved to the “vacant, once grand, legitimate theatre called the Hippodrome, a magnificent auditorium, albeit crumbling, shabby and cold,” according to CT’s Web site.
CT stayed at Eighth and Ohio until 1948. In 1949, the Hippodrome was converted to the Wabash Theater for motion pictures.
When the Valley of Terre Haute Ancient Accepted Scottish Rite acquired the structure in 1956, it needed a lot of work. “It would have been a parking lot if the Scottish Rite hadn’t bought it,” Burns said.
According to Burns, the organization found the building well-suited to its needs. Scottish Rite, a fraternity derived from freemasonry, uses short stage plays, or allegories, to teach its moral lessons, Burns said.
Throughout the late 1950s, Scottish Rite members paid “out-of-pocket” for new lighting, curtains and other improvements to make the building more functional, Burns said.
The Scottish Rite, known as a somewhat secretive organization, rarely opened its doors to members of the public. That has begun to change, according to Burns.
“We aren’t a secret organization,” Burns said. “Do secret organizations publish membership lists? Do they put the name on the front of the building?”
Glen R. Miller, senior warden of the Terre Haute Lodge of Perfection, one of the branches of the local Scottish Rite organization, said he thinks most members are excited to see the theater opened up.
“I don’t know of any of the [Scottish Rite] folks I’m involved with who wouldn’t like to see that thing become more and more utilized,” Miller said.
The Scottish Rite has opened the facility free of charge in recent years to local musical groups, such as the Brazil Concert Band, the Terre Haute Sinfonietta and others.
Earle “Doc” Melendy, former concert-master of the Terre Haute Symphony, and now conductor of the Sinfonietta said he was not aware of the restoration project, but is thrilled to hear about it.
“We’re very privileged to play there,” Melendy said. “They don’t let everyone in.”
Burns said he is happy to give tours of the theater by request.
The upcoming production, “The Robe,” written by Lloyd C. Douglas and adapted by John McGreevey, is the story of Marcellus, a young Roman officer who is required to crucify a popular Galilean in Jerusalem. Marcellus believes the man to be innocent, but obeys his orders to kill him, and later tosses dice to win the Galilean’s homespun robe. Over time, Marcellus (played by Steven Fivecoat of Terre Haute) becomes wracked with guilt for executing the Galilean, eventually accepting him as divine during a “final scene of emotion and power.” Miren Beristain of Terre Haute plays the role of Cornelia, and Tiffany Wilson, also of Terre Haute, is playing Diana.
Burns said they chose the play because one of the Scottish Rite members wanted to see it and because “The Robe is a perfect story for the Easter season.”
“It’s a story about standing up for what you believe. It’s a story for free thinkers,” he said.
Deb McKee can be contacted at (812) 231-4254 or deb.mckee@tribstar.com.
