Philharmonic leads grand reopening of Warner Theatre on Sunday

Daniel Meyer and the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra will kick off the grand reopening of the Warner Theatre in style on Sunday. Emanuel Ax, the famous classical pianist, will perform with the orchestra in the first event at the renovated theater.

Ax, 72, is the perfect musician to usher in the new era at the Warner, which has undergone massive changes costing in the tens of millions of dollars over the past two years. Ax has performed and taught in Erie in recent years, winning praise from everyone he met.

The people behind the Warner renovations deserve a lot of credit for keeping focus on the project in recent years. It took more than a decade to sort out a land acquisition arrangement, but Casey Wells and the Civic Center authority never wavered. When the estimates for the final work came in millions of dollars over budget, they didn’t scrimp.

Realizing that restoring the Warner, built in 1931, had to be completed without cutting corners, the theater’s brain trust raised the addition funds to complete the job the right way. As had often happened in Erie in recent years, Tom Hagen and Erie Insurance stepped up and delivered.

When Erie people drive down State Street and see the new marquee all lit up, it gives us a sense of pride. It wasn’t so long ago – in the 1970s – when sewage seeped into the theater, creating such a mess that some leaders suggested razing the classic theater. Thankfully, that never happened.

Erie's showplace: A timeline of the Warner Theatre's history

• His friends and former McDowell High School graduates are thrilled that James Conner enjoyed such a great season for the Arizona Cardinals. Conner, who left the Steelers and signed on with the Cards last spring, ended up scoring 18 touchdowns during the regular season — third-best in the league.

Best of all, Conner maintains close ties with family and friends in Erie, visiting here often and making regular rounds at hospitals and schools. He’s a cancer survivor who always makes time for young people who are enduring a similar challenge.

Our guy: Erie-area athletes, coaches, fans closely follow James Conner's career, comebacks

• Erie's Notre Dame football fans are excited that Cathedral Prep graduate Matt "Bo" Bauer will return for another season with the Irish. Bauer has already received his undergraduate degree and will have a chance to have his Masters in hand when he finally leaves South Bend.

Coming back: Bauer to return to Notre Dame for 5th football season

• Former Pittsburgh Steelers great Jerome Bettis recently enrolled at Notre Dame for a final semester to complete his degree. Bettis, who turns 50 in February, said he always promised his parents that he would go back and get his diploma, and he’s proving there’s no better time than the present.

Bettis used to be a regular at the Flagship City Bowling Tournament, and he always competed in the exhibition matches for celebrities that kicked off the event. I recall a talented local bowler bragging that he planned to clobber Bettis when they bowled against each other, but the Bus ended up rolling a dazzling 286. Few people knew that Bettis grew up at a Detroit bowling alley run by his family.

Throwing again: Popular Erie bowler, recovering from leukemia, opens strong in Times-News Open

• Sorry to hear that North East’s Freeport Restaurant has closed. We dined there often over the years, feasting on their delicious, resh-caught walleye and perch. Freeport also made an incomparable country sausage that people would travel for miles to enjoy. It will be missed.

• Monsignor Tom McSweeney is back from Rome and his visit to the Vatican, where he had a productive conversation with the people in the office that study candidates for sainthood. McSweeney is leading the charge for the late Gertrude Barber, who is up for sainthood. Even with all of his hard work, McSweeney recognizes that it might take decades for Barber to be canonized. The Catholic Church takes its good old time in such matters.

2020 report: Gertrude Barber named Erie’s woman of the century

• Old friend and newspaper colleague Chuck Evans died Jan. 8 at the age of 81. Chuck was a great guy who volunteered at more than a dozen local organizations. An avid hockey fan, he was a regular at games played by the Blades and Otters. In fact, shortly after he moved to Erie, he tossed his hat onto the rink after a Blades players scored a hat trick. He was surprised when nobody else followed his example. “A security guard went out on the ice, picked up my hat told me to keep it on my head,” Chuck recalled with a laugh.

Obituary: Charles “Chuck” Edward Evans, 81

• Reading about two local band conductors who marched in the recent Rose Parade reminded John D’Annibale of the time in 1955 when Academy’s marching band participated in the Rose Parade. “It was a 10-day, round trip by rail and we had our own section of the train — about five rail cars,” D’Annibale said.

About 80 band members, including 20 majorettes, made the trip. “Our float was a replica of the U.S. Brig Niagara, bearing the words, ‘Don’t Give up the Ship.’“ D’Annibale said. Businesses and local people donated the money to fund the trip.

We love a parade: Erie band leaders Chuck Lute, Dianne Gehrlein to march in Rose Parade on New Year's Day

• Local fans of the Eagles are thrilled that the band has added performances in Cleveland on March 17, in Pittsburgh on March 26, and in Buffalo on April 21. Tickets went on sale Jan. 14.

Kevin Cuneo can be reached at kevin.cuneo1844@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: Kevin Cuneo: Erie Phil to reopen the Warner Theatre, James Conner, more