History of the Opera House: The grand reopening of 1984
On June 16, 1984, flags flew in Cheboygan to celebrate the grand reopening of the Cheboygan Opera House after 17 years of closure. Floating through the June sunshine, the ragged rhythm of a five-piece ragtime ensemble brought back the early days of the opera house and pulled people to the doors.
Politicians appeared for the ribbon-cutting, including Mayor Ellis Olson, U.S. Congressman Bob Davis, state Sen. Mitch Irwin and state representative Pat Gagliardi. Ray Scott, Executive Director of Michigan Council for the Arts also attended. Head of the City Hall/Opera House Building Authority, Phil Leege cut the ribbon to open the doors.
Building tours were offered Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Groups made their way up the stairs, freshly carpeted in red and gold, and turned under the chandelier in the lobby. When the doors to the theater opened, they saw three hundred burgundy velveteen seats lined in rows on wrought iron legs; 282 more filled the balcony. Under the soaring proscenium arches, held by the French burgundy curtains draped with gold cords and tassels, washed by the arch lights and warmed by the hot spots of the new lighting system, the freshly varnished pine floor glowed, a ruby set in gold, giving the Opera House her new name, “The Jewel of the North.”
Behind the stage, a new dance studio, complete with mirrors, barres and a shiny Marley dance floor, awaited the arrival of thousands of students. The clack of the taps, the crinkle of crinoline, the excited voices of children, the music of dance were all kept from the stage by a soundproof wall. The wall could be opened to expand the stage to seat over 70 musicians. The opening acts for the new Cheboygan Opera House followed the tours at 6 p.m.
The opening acts were a perfect combination of classical and pop culture. On Saturday evening, women in their best dresses, men in suits, ties and tuxes, and children on their best behavior pooled in groups at the doors and in the lobby to chat with their neighbors, all talking about the beauty of the Opera House. They made their way to their seats, the noise of their voices reaching the orchestra behind the curtain as the house filled.
When the house light blinked for the two-minute warning, as one, the audience silenced and leaned forward in their seats, awaiting the opening strains of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Founded in 1887, the Detroit Symphony Orchestra is America’s fourth oldest. The 50-piece orchestra conducted by Michael Krajewski, played Mozart’s “The Marriage of Figaro,” “Grieg’s Suite 40,” “Haydn’s finale from Symphony Number 45” and Beethoven’s “Symphony Number 7 in A major.” Musicians and audience all agreed that the Opera House’s near perfect acoustics enhanced the performance. At the end of the concert patrons had the opportunity to attend an afterglow party on the stage with the conductor.
Sunday’s performance brought back some of the same audience as well as a younger crowd. John Hartford was a Grammy award winning singer/songwriter, author of “Gentle on My Mind,” and frequent guest star on the “The Glen Campbell Show,” “Smother’s Brothers,” “The Johnny Cash Show,” and “Hee Haw.” Hartford was also a professional river boat captain, passionate about the Mississippi River and the folk sounds of the south.
My brother, Sam King, is a lifelong musician whose first instrument was the five-string banjo. He remembers the concert vividly: “John Hartford wore a white shirt, with garters on the sleeves, a string tie, black vest, black pants and a black derby. He brought a piece of plywood, maybe four foot by six foot with a transducer pickup, sort of a microphone, attached. They dusted the board with sawdust. When Hartford sang, he not only played the banjo or the fiddle, he danced. It wasn’t a tap shoe or a clog, but a sort of soft shoe and it made a shuffle and a shimmy sound. It was his percussion. He was a one man show. After the concert, he sat on the Opera House steps and signed autographs. I was so nervous, all I could say was, “Good job.” John Hartford was the reason I started playing the banjo. He was my hero.”
— 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: The grand reopening of 1984
