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34-725: The Victoria, one of the oldest continually operated theaters on the continent, was opened to the public as the Turner Opera House on New Year's Day, 1866. The first performance was the James Sheridan Knowles play Virginius , starring Edwin Forrest – the play was strongly associated with the famous actor. According to press clippings of that era, the theater was referred to as "the best theater west of Philadelphia". The theater's presence in Dayton even inspired

68-528: A flourishing school, he continued to write for the stage. His first important success was Caius Gracchus , produced at the Belfast Theatre in 1815; and his Virginius , written for William Charles Macready , was first performed in 1820 at Covent Garden. In William Tell (1825), Knowles wrote for Macready one of his favourite parts. His best-known play, The Hunchback , was produced at Covent Garden in 1832, and Knowles won praise acting in

102-450: A full slate of entertainment offerings for 2022. James Sheridan Knowles James Sheridan Knowles (12 May 1784 – 30 November 1862) was an Irish dramatist and actor . A relative of Richard Brinsley Sheridan , Knowles enjoyed success writing plays for the leading West End theatres . Later in his career he also produced several novels. Knowles was born in Cork . His father was

136-561: Is an umbrella name covering all four venues, The Victoria Theatre, The Schuster Performing Arts Center , Loft Theatre, and the PNC Arts Annex, and also includes Ticket Center Stage. Its tagline is "Bringing you the best theatre and event experiences in the Dayton Region, Your Home for Arts, Culture & Entertainment". "Dayton Live evokes the energy of live events while boldly declaring that our thriving downtown community

170-590: Is the region's home for the arts, culture, and entertainment," said Ty Sutton, president, and CEO. With new branding just weeks before COVID-19 shut down venues nationwide, Dayton Live managed to keep operations afloat while laying off hundreds of personnel. In 2021 while awaiting the Small Business Administration Shuttered Venue Operator Grant, Sutton says on April 26, 2021, Dayton Live was finally able to submit its application, nearly four months after

204-801: The Sloan-Kettering Institute , the Cincinnati Zoo , and Kettering University. In her 2003 front-page obituary, the Dayton Daily News called her, "the Dayton region's leading philanthropist and arts patron." Her 1997 induction into the Dayton Walk of Fame said she "changed the face of the region through her philanthropy." Dayton Foundation president Mike Parks said, "There isn't a sector of our community that hasn't been touched by her generous hand." Kettering married Eugene Williams Kettering on April 15, 1930. She

238-668: The Tower Hamlets militia, leaving the service to become a pupil of Dr Robert Willan (1757–1812). He obtained the degree of M.D., and was appointed vaccinator to the Jennerian Society . Although Dr Willan offered him a share in his practice, Knowles decided to give up medicine for the stage, making his first appearance as an actor probably at Bath, and played Hamlet at Crow Street Theatre , Dublin. At Wexford he married, in October 1809, Maria Charteris, an actress from

272-1020: The Victoria Theatre Association ) is the non-profit arts organization that owns and operates the Benjamin & Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center, Victoria Theatre, the PNC Arts Annex (opened in 2018), and the Metropolitan Arts Center (home of The Loft Theatre) for the benefit of the community and the arts organizations that use them. They also own and operate Starbucks at the Schuster and The Arts Garage. Dayton Live presents over 300 performances for all ages each year, including touring Broadway, stand-up comedy, concerts, films, and family shows, as well as educational programs. Independent not-for-profit arts organizations that call Dayton Live venues home include

306-560: The "Victoria Opera House", and in 1903, it became the Victoria Theatre, two years after the death of Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Damage again befell The Victoria during the catastrophic Great Dayton Flood of 1913 which severely damaged the Dayton region along with the ground floor of the theater. The theater's interior was rebuilt and remodeled. But on January 16, 1918, fire struck again and gutted portions of

340-861: The $ 4.5-million-dollar Dayton Foundation Virginia W. Kettering Fund to "further the public good" and donated $ 2 million to Carillon Historical Park. Kettering was the first individual contributor to the Fraze Pavilion project, which created an outdoor performance space in Kettering, Ohio , a suburb of Dayton named after Kettering's father-in-law. Gifts to the University of Dayton and Wright State University exceeded $ 16.5 million during Kettering's lifetime. Total gifts throughout her lifetime have been "estimated very conservatively" at $ 150 million. The Kettering Foundation supports charitable and community projects in eight counties surrounding Dayton plus

374-460: The 1970s, the theater was operated as "The Victory Theater". It staged legitimate theatrical shows, rock concerts and movies. The theatre was also home to the nationally known Dayton Ballet Company. A mainstay through the period was its screening of "Midnight Movies", offered by a local independent producer, on Friday and Saturday nights that drew a, largely, teen audience for films with counter-cultural themes. During revitalization efforts in

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408-721: The Associations larger Broadway productions as well as large acts. The Dayton Philharmonic, the Dayton Opera, and the Dayton Ballet also rent the building for their performances. These two venues along with the Metropolitan Arts Center , which is a renovated former department store building next to the Victoria Theatre, are able to hold a variety of performances of any size and is the heart of the performing arts district in Downtown Dayton. Dayton Live (formerly

442-599: The Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Dayton Dance Initiative, Dayton Performing Arts Association (Dayton Ballet, Dayton Opera, Dayton Philharmonic), Muse Machine , and The Human Race Theatre Association. The Victoria Theatre Association and Ticket Center Stage unveiled its new name, Dayton Live , at an open house event on March 10, 2020, at the Schuster Center. The organization also debuted its new website, DaytonLive.org. Dayton Live

476-626: The Edinburgh Theatre. In 1810 he wrote Leo , a successful play in which Edmund Kean appeared; another play, Brian Boroihme , written for the Belfast Theatre in the next year, attracted crowds; nevertheless, Knowles's earnings were so small that he was obliged to become assistant to his father at the Belfast Academical Institution . In 1817 he moved from Belfast to Glasgow , where, besides keeping

510-605: The Ketterings announced they would donate two-thirds of the cost of building Kettering Memorial Hospital , named in honor of Eugene's father, Charles F. Kettering , who had died the previous year, if the remainder were raised by the community. The hospital opened in 1964. In the 1960s, Kettering and her husband worked to create the United States Air Force Museum in Dayton, a pet project of Eugene's. When her husband died in 1969, Kettering took over

544-549: The Victory Theatre was outfitted for talking pictures, in its effort to continue as a full-service cinema house. In the 1950s and 1960s, it was the home of pictures from Walt Disney's company, as well as other studios' family fare. By the late 1960s, Dayton's changing business patterns Downtown and the proliferation of freeways and suburban shopping malls threatened the Victory Theater's existence, and in 1975 it

578-533: The Victory as a try-out venue for various productions before taking the material to the East Coast. A popular vintage film series drew patrons during the summertime and featured pipe organ house music and silent film accompaniment, thanks to the acquisition of an NCR-donated Estey pipe organ. The 1989 the theatre was closed due to the extensive renovation. It involved razing the interior commercial space within

612-400: The Victory, which was renovated and installed by aficionados. In 1986, Virginia Kettering donated $ 7 million to fund a downtown arts center, conditioning her donation on the requirement that the center include the Victory Theater and be located within the same one-block area. All the while, it continued to be visited extensively by traveling theater companies. Choreographer Twyla Tharp used

646-563: The building. Reconstruction was delayed due to material shortages during World War I. Thus, after Armistice, The Victoria saw extensive interior remodeling and in 1919 re-opened as "The Victory Theatre" – a name commemorating the victorious American war effort. For decades, the theater was a major national embarkation point for traveling theater and stock companies. This included performances by Al Jolson, The Marx Brothers, Helen Hayes, Fannie Brice, George M. Cohan, Lynn Fontayne, Gertrude Lawrence, Alfred Lunt, Harry Houdini, and many others. In 1930,

680-505: The day, the theatre had a network of access tunnels stretching out beneath the city's streets for several blocks. It was said that, during Vaudeville times, the tunnels allowed circus animals to be unloaded from railroad cars blocks away from the theatre, and held underground until showtime. As late as 1979, much of the tunnel network was accessible to employees, although some sections were blocked off by city steam pipes. The stage also bore remnants of its original gas footlights . Throughout

714-635: The donation on the development of a downtown performing arts center. The Victoria Theatre refurbishment was completed in 1988 and the Schuster Performing Arts Center open nearby shortly after her death. In 1996, Kettering donated $ 4 million for expansion the Dayton Art Institute and established a $ 1 million scholarship fund for Wright State University Medical School students who will serve elderly patients in Dayton for two years. In 2000, Kettering established

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748-464: The forward, Main Street-facing section of the building as well as the stage house, while carefully preserving and restoring the 1866–71 facade and the 1919 auditorium. At the same time, the interior auditorium portion of the structure was completely renovated. All of the commercial space at street level was reclaimed for a grand, new lobby. The result was an extensively-new Victoria Theatre (as it

782-625: The late 1970s, the stage manager, Gary Kuzkin, overhauled much of the stage's technical capabilities. Crews from the Stagehands Union (IATSE) local restored much of the theatre's ancient hemp-and-sandbag fly galley, replacing several hundred thousand feet of rope—along with miles of electrical wiring. In 1978, the theatre was greatly benefited by the donation of a cache of equipment and stage draperies from National Cash Register 's (NCR) auditorium, which had been slated for demolition. NCR also donated its historic five-rank Estay pipe organ to

816-510: The legislation was passed. But since then, venue owners are struggling to get the money partly due to rigorous fraud checks between the SBA and IRS . “They’re worried about fraud at the expense of giving the money back to the people that rightly deserve it,” Sutton said. “We have to let legislators know they have to do this and they have to do it quickly.” [1] As the pandemic has waned, operations have been building back up to full capacity with

850-477: The lexicographer James Knowles , cousin of Richard Brinsley Sheridan . The family moved to London in 1793, and at the age of fourteen Knowles published a ballad entitled The Welsh Harper , which, set to music, was very popular. His talents secured him the friendship of William Hazlitt , who introduced him to Charles Lamb and Samuel Taylor Coleridge . He served for some time in the Wiltshire and afterwards in

884-482: The orchestra, and 519 in the balcony. The proscenium measures 37'7" wide by 29'0" high by 39'3" deep. A full-sized orchestra pit lies just below the stage lip. Ten dressing rooms, accommodating up to 18 people, are off-stage left, in the basement and at stage level. In 2003, the Benjamin and Marian Schuster Performing Arts Center , under the operation of The Victoria Theatre Association, opened as another venue to house

918-593: The project. "Her determination, logic, and meticulous attention kept the projects on track." In 1972, Kettering founded the Dayton Holiday Festival and Children's Parade and work was completed on Kettering Tower . In 1974, Kettering conceived and led the development of Courthouse Plaza, a downtown gathering space. Kettering provided the impetus to refurbish the Victoria Theatre , a historic building in downtown Dayton. She conditioned

952-537: The publishing of a musical march by Edward Spoth named after the opera house. Arson was suspected of having caused an all-consuming fire May 16, 1869, which destroyed the theater at a loss of $ 500,000, of which insurance covered only $ 128,000. In 1871, the edifice was re-opened – its rebuilding based, in part, on a portion of the surviving facade, although built to three stories instead of six. The opera house resumed operations as "The Music Hall". It in 1885 it became "The Grand Opera House". On September 18, 1899, it became

986-600: The pulpit, and as a Baptist preacher attracted large audiences at Exeter Hall and elsewhere. He published two polemical works: the Rock of Rome and the Idol Demolished by Its Own Priests in both of which he combated the special doctrines of the Roman Catholic Church . Knowles was for some years in the receipt of an annual pension of £200, bestowed by Sir Robert Peel in 1849. In old age he befriended

1020-400: The work as Master Walter. The Wife was brought out at the same theatre in 1833; The Daughter better known as The Wrecker's Daughter, in 1836, and The Love Chase in 1837. His 1839 play Love was praised by Mary Shelley for its "inspiring situations founded on sentiment and passion". His second wife was the actress Emma Knowles . In his later years he forsook the stage for

1054-626: The young Edmund Gosse , whom he introduced to Shakespeare. Knowles makes a happy appearance in Gosse's Father and Son . He died at Torquay on 30 November 1862. He is buried under a huge tomb at the summit of the Glasgow Necropolis . A full list of the works of Knowles and of the various notices of him will be found in The Life of James Sheridan Knowles (1872), privately printed by his son, Richard Brinsley Knowles (1820–1882), who

Victoria Theatre (Dayton, Ohio) - Misplaced Pages Continue

1088-434: Was now so renamed) designed expressly for the performing arts. The auditorium retained its original appearance with completely restored plaster work, drapery, marble work, gilding, and fresco detailing. Additionally, the house received state-of-the-art upgrading to its wiring, lighting, and sound systems and now accommodated infrared sound transmitters for headphone use. The current theater accommodates 1,154, with 635 seats in

1122-494: Was slated for demolition, in favor of a proposed parking lot. A public outcry for the theater's preservation that year helped to earn the building its listing in the National Register of Historic Places and, thus, it escaped demolition. However, portions of the building were in poor or fading condition. A group of young volunteers raised funds and did the early renovation work themselves to prevent demolition. Back in

1156-635: Was well known as a journalist. It was translated into German. Virginia Weiffenbach Kettering Virginia Weiffenbach Kettering (1907 - 2003) was Dayton, Ohio 's leading philanthropist and patron of the arts. Kettering was born July 15, 1907, in Bellevue, Kentucky , to architect and marble importer Norman and Clara Weiffenbach. She was their only child. She attended Moraine Park School, where she met husband-to-be Eugene Kettering, Margaret Morrison Carnegie College , Carnegie Tech , and Lutherville Seminary. In 1959, soon after moving to Dayton,

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