F.M. Kirby Center remains committed to improving access to cultural arts

Apr. 22—WILKES-BARRE — Joell Yarmel, executive director at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts, said the F.M. Kirby Center remains committed to improving access to the cultural arts through its mission programming and mainstream headliners.

The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts is the recipient of the Service Electric Giving to the Community donation of $500.

"We have something for everyone and are proud to be the gem of downtown Wilkes-Barre," Yarmel said. "It is an honor to be a recipient of the Service Electric Giving to the Community donation."

Yarmel said after a 16-month shutdown due to COVID-19, the F.M. Kirby Center is up and running and has been in full swing since August of 2021.

Although it is most notably known for mainstream headliners such as Jerry Seinfeld, Blue October and Cole Swindell — a few that have visited since re-opening — Yarmel said the heart of the Kirby Center is what it gives back to the community.

Through a program called the Laux Young People's Theater Series, Yarmel said 9,000 school-aged children are entertained by five live performances completely free of charge each school year.

"The students attend an educational yet entertaining performance and receive a study guide to take back to the classroom to incorporate that program into their curriculum," Yarmel said. "With arts and music drastically eliminated from various school districts, this program is one of the few opportunities for them to truly experience art education."

Another part of the organization's mission is the Signature Series which includes professional touring companies for opera, Shakespeare, music, modern dance, ballet and family shows. Tickets for these programs are only $10 for all attendees, thanks to support from sponsors such as Geisinger. The last show in this series is The Magic of Bill Blagg Live! on May 16.

"Through our community outreach program, hundreds of show tickets are donated annually to local nonprofits, healthcare agencies and children's organizations," Yarmel said.

"All of this is made possible through memberships, sponsorships and contributions from our local community. The theater also hosts one fundraiser a year called F.M. Kirby Fest which will be held on Saturday, April 29, at the Kirby Center. The event features samples from local wineries, breweries and restaurants along with local music and artists. "Our fifth annual event is set to be bigger and better, and tickets are going fast. It's a great way to explore our theater and sample treats from local businesses that support us here at the Kirby Center. More information can be found at kirbycenter.org and tickets can be purchased through our Box Office."

Yarmel said the Kirby Center has around 100 events per year that are made up of mission and mainstream programs, along with community fundraisers and events.

Typically 100,000 people walk through the brass doors each year.

Yarmel said a recent study concluded that the Kirby Center has an economic impact on the community of close to $10 million annually.

On Aug. 18, 1938, the Comerford Movie Theater opened its doors to the public, showing the movie, "Alexander's Ragtime Band," starring, Tyrone Power, Don Ameche and Alice Faye.

That was the beginning of a rich and colorful history for the building that is now called the F. M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts.

In 1937 the Comerford movie chain chose this site on Public Square on which to erect a movie house as a monument to founder Michael E. Comerford. It was the flagship gem of the M. E. Comerford 45-theater chain located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and New York. The grandest of movie houses was planned, replacing a bus terminal, a printing company, a stonecutter and a drug store.

The result was an advanced art deco dream — a lavish interior with five lobbies, oval rose-colored mirrors, tall fluted columns, doors and walls in copper tints with shades of metallic blue.

All of this was topped off by the "Giant Lavaliere," a glorious chandelier which still graces the lobby of the Kirby Center today, with a similar version located in the Empire State Building.

Holding nearly 2,000 patrons, the theater had the largest capacity in the area and was technologically advanced for its time with hearing aid equipped seats, air conditioning and a nursery with a matron.

The 1940s brought about a time of change for the theater. In 1949, due to an anti-trust lawsuit, ownership of the Comerford Theater was transferred to the Penn Paramount Company and the building was renamed the Paramount Theater. It continued to operate as one of Northeastern Pennsylvania's majestic, single screen movie palaces for another 27 years.

Not even the muddy, 14-foot deep flood waters of Hurricane Agnes in the Summer of 1972 could keep the theater closed.

The economics of operating a large, single screen building, coupled with changed shopping patterns and the free parking associated with the mall cineplex, forced the Paramount to close its doors in late 1977 and it transferred to a new owner.

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, when it was no longer a movie house, the theater was used as a venue for touring concerts and closed-circuit television boxing matches — hollow echoes of the glory that had once been.

Fortunately, a group of local residents banded together under the acronym S.T.O.P. (Save The Old Paramount). They were successful in having the building added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978, but even so, it was basically abandoned ... until 1985.

Enter Albert Boscov. The owner of one of the nation's largest, privately owned department store chains, Boscov, was no stranger to Wilkes-Barre. A few years earlier he had purchased one of the last remaining downtown department stores (Fowler, Dick and Walker — The Boston Store).

Boscov wanted a way to say "Thank You" to the people of Wilkes-Barre. And the abandoned Paramount was just the right way. In 1985, Boscov, along with August L. Simms, and with the invaluable assistance of Fred M. Kirby II and the Kirby Foundation, a team was assembled including local business and civic leaders, to put together a drive to raise the necessary $3.3 million for the acquisition and restoration of the theater.

Everyone responded, from gifts of grade school students, to wage give backs by labor unions to the major naming gift given by Fred M. Kirby II — everyone pulled together. And in remarkably short order, too.

Announced as the Paramount Civic Center on Dec. 21, 1985, the project was launched, designed, and completed in just under nine months. It was renamed the F. M. Kirby Center in honor of Fred M. Kirby I, the co-founder of the Woolworth's chain and a native of the Wilkes-Barre area. Doors to the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts opened on Friday, Sept. 19, 1986.

Reach Bill O'Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.