History of the Opera House: Family Stories on Stage: Andrew Kurtz
Nearly 100 years ago, Andrew Kurtz’ great-great aunts, Jessie and Harriet Clark sang and danced on the Opera House stage in a benefit for Saint Mary’s Church. In the 1980s, his grandmother Susan Blum appeared with the Northland Players. With showbiz in his veins and the support of his family and community, Kurtz was destined for the stage.
“From my immediate family to my teachers at Bishop Baraga, I have always been pushed towards the stage. For instance, my grandma Susan Blum started me in piano lessons at the age of 5,” Kurtz said.
As a young child, Kurtz’s teachers at Bishop Baraga encouraged him to take part in the Spring Program at the Opera House. Since the early 1880s, the spring programs have been a yearly tradition. Early Cheboygan schools put on shows and graduated their students from the Opera House stage. Now it’s called the Youth Art Festival. All schools, public or private, and all home-schoolers are invited to participate in the spring programs at no cost to the families, the schools or the audience.
The calendar fills with school orchestras, bands, jazz lab and choir concerts, dance recitals and theatrical productions. Each grade level with a music class sings on stage, starting with kindergarten. Every school age child in Cheboygan has the opportunity to take the stage. The Opera House fills for every show. In a typical spring, over 5,000 people will walk through the Opera House doors. The spring programs offer a bustling professional venue for young performers like Kurtz to make their debut.
Kurtz says, “I would say that performing in that very show on the Opera House stage with the support of my teachers Ms. Lyon, Mrs. Linda Carlton, Mrs. Jill Kwiatkowski, and Mrs. Midge Shaw was the start of it all. I am very grateful for the influence these important women have had on my life. ... One person that really made the Cheboygan Opera house so special was Mr. Lelio “Leo” Cocciarelli. I, along with many others, will never forget that man and his kindness.”
And people will not forget Andrew Kurtz. “He has a way of brining people in and having people instantly like him, even from afar, like the stage,” said fellow Cheboygan actor, Katie Mallory. Throughout school, Kurtz continued performing, from high school musicals to community theater with the Rivertown Follies.
He knew from the beginning there was something special about the historical theater. “I always felt as though there was something magical about the Cheboygan Opera House. I mean it is probably one of the most beautiful venues that I’ve ever had honor of performing on! I mean that! I always looked forward to rehearsing and performing on that stage.”
Kurtz knows his venues. When he graduated from high school, he attended the Young American College for the Performing Arts. Founded in 1962, the mission of the Young Americans is “to promote goodwill and understanding around the world through music. The Young Americans cast members come from across the USA and around the world to use their talents as singers, dancers, and musicians to inspire audiences of all ages.”
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The touring schedule is both rigorous and extensive, with over 450 performances across five continents. YACPA students are also cast members and perform in “Broadway-caliber theaters in England, Spanish bullrings, and gorgeous concert halls in Japan.” The Young Americans deliver over 450 performances across five con, Spanish bullrings, and gorgeous concert halls in Japan.
From Alaska to South Africa, France, Japan and Australia, Kurtz saw the world. “Traveling with the Young Americans was very influential in my life. Not only was I able to perform but I also had the opportunity to form long lasting relationships with my friends and cast members that are from all over the world. I would never have had the opportunity to join that performing arts group without the support of those in charge of Cheboygan Opera House and the many influential people in my life.”
His favorite moment with the Young Americans was not seeing the cathedrals of Paris, hiking the outback of Australia or swimming in the ocean in California. “I enjoyed coming home and performing at the Opera House with the Young Americans. Not only was I overjoyed to come home but I was able to share our Opera House with my cast members — who all couldn’t stop talking about how gorgeous our Opera House is! They knew how special our Opera House is the moment that they stepped onto the stage,” Kurtz said. “I owe so much to the performing arts community in Cheboygan and our beautiful Opera House.”
Kurtz was recently accepted into a doctoral program in clinical psychology, with an interest in both clinical work and research. He hopes to research the processes that contribute to self-destructive behaviors in those with post-traumatic shock, bipolar and generalized anxiety diagnoses.
— Kathy King Johnson is former executive director of the Cheboygan Opera House.
This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: History of the Opera House: Family Stories on Stage: Andrew Kurtz
