Victoria Theatre marks 150th anniversary

Historic Backstage Tours

A series of historic backstage tours of the Victoria Theatre will be offered throughout the anniversary year. Patrons, guided by VTA employees and volunteers, will learn the history of the building, see backstage, and hear behind the scenes stories.

Tour dates are:

Tours are free of charge but reservations are required: www.ticketcenterstage.com.

Here are just a few of the historic tidbits Shelby Dixon has uncovered related to the life of the Victoria Theatre

The name and structure may have changed over the years but its purpose has always remained the same: to thrill and entertain audiences.

One of Dayton’s most beloved landmarks is marking its century-and-a-half anniversary in 2016. The Victoria Theatre traces its roots back to New Year’s Day, 1866, when it first opened as The Turner Opera House. Despite challenges ranging from two major fires, a flood and the threat of the wrecking ball, the historic theater has survived. It has seen chariots and chorus lines, Disney movies and dance programs, lectures and rock concerts. It has hosted stars ranging from Sarah Bernhardt and Ethyl Barrymore to Idina Menzel, The Eagles, Leon Russell and Travis Tritt.

The Victoria Theatre Association will celebrate the special anniversary year with backstage tours, a Dayton Ballet open house, a classic film series and a celebration brunch for Charter Club members who’ve been supporting the VTA since its incorporation in 1976.

In partnership with ThinkTV, the VTA is asking folks in the Miami Valley to share personal anecdotes. Share yours by emailing: info@victoriatheatre.com; visiting the VTA website at www.victoriatheatre.com/memories or mailing your stories to 138 N. Main St., Dayton, OH 45402.

To kick off our coverage of this special year, we’re sharing reminiscences from three individuals who’ve been intimately involved with the theater over the years.

Jeanne Keyes Beachler grew up at the Victory Theatre. Her grandfather — William Keyes of Schwind Realty — restored and rebuilt the historic venue in 1919 after it burned down for a second time on Jan. 16, 1918. He reopened it as the Victory to commemorate the Allied victory in World War I and upon his death in 1955, left the theater to his two sons — Robert and John C. Keyes — who owned and managed it.

I went to all of the Disney movies there, often the same movie many times, and loved it when my mother would drop us off and my Dad would meet us with popcorn and candy in hand. We wouldn’t have to wait in line. I remember feeling such pride that this beautiful theater belonged to my family.

My father used to make arrangements to have the children from Gorman School (which, before mainstreaming, was a school for handicapped children) attend movies at the Victory. I remember seeing the thank you notes that the children sent afterward. I remember especially a letter that a little boy wrote after he saw “One Hundred and One Dalmatians.” The boy had carefully drawn as many dalmatian puppies as he could fit on the page. It may have been 101, I’m not sure, but it was a lot of little spotted puppies and must have taken the child hours to draw.

Many years later I worked as a rehabilitation counselor and had a client come to my office who, according to his background records had attended Gorman School. I asked him if he ever remembered going to movies at the Victory. With much enthusiasm he said he remembered all of them and mentioned that he had once drawn 101 Dalmatian puppies in a thank you letter. I was so touched to be able to tell him that I saw his letter and it had meant the world to my dad.

When I was in college, I worked as a waitress/barmaid at The Olde Vic Pub. This was in 1971 and downtown was no longer doing a lot of business. My Uncle Jack, who was treasurer for the family company, used to show me the business books, awash in red.

The stagehands from the Victory used to come in and tell me stories about seeing the ghost, a young actress who had died, and talk about the glory days at the theater. I heard about a production of “The Passion Play” that included a number of live animals, including a camel and donkey. I was told that mid-way through the run of the play, the donkey died onstage. Rather than move the p0or animal, they left it there under the hot lights as a stage prop until the show closed.

There was a time when the theater was leased to a rock’n roll promoter who booked live music. I was working at the Pub when Ricky Nelson performed there. I went over to watch some of the shows and was saddened to see that the patrons of the show did not respect the theater. They threw food around, smoked cigarettes and stubbed out the butts on the floor. It was no longer the gorgeous theater I remembered from my childhood.

I am grateful that the Victoria Theater Association restored the theater so beautifully.

Bess Saylor Imber is best known as “Miss Bess,” a principal dancer, choreographer and co-artistic director for the Dayton Ballet Company. The Dayton Ballet was the center of Imber’s life for more than 50 years.

We asked her to share thoughts as a performer on the Victory stage.

In high school I had always loved the Victoria even when Miss Jo (Dayton Ballet founder Josephine Schwarz) had to put buckets about the studio to catch the rain water that we dancers had to rehearse around. Quite challenging.

The renovation was very disappointing to me, for just walking into the large studios with wooden floors and black baby grands made you feel creative. Before the renovation, we dancers got to breathe in the ambiance of the high ceilings, the lovely arched windows and the excitement of a fire escape. Miss Jo hosted a cast party for American Ballet Theater there on the third floor, always 50 steps up, and the famous Carla Fracci from Italy and Eric Brunne from Denmark admired the old-world atmosphere .

The dressing rooms on the second floor back stage were small and like the old Hollywood films, had a wooden table down the center with a mirror surrounded by a row of lights for each dancer and a folding chair. A sink and a rod to hang costumes and one tiny window high up and a bathroom down the hall made you feel like the starving artist. The first floor had the larger dressing room for the ‘stars.’ It was cold and drafty back stage and we had to wear lots of sweaters and leg warmers to keep our muscles warm before we went on.

There was a circular stair case up to the cat walk in the far corner that we held onto to support our executing grande battements. (A battement in ballet is executed with the free leg lifted high from the floor.)

There were a hundred thick ropes everywhere and you felt you were on an old ship. The stage hands were big and beefy and rather scary. Thank goodness the auditorium has not been renovated and is as I remember it 70 years ago when I sat in the balcony with my mother to see The Ballet Russe. Such a romantic setting.

Dayton is soooooo fortunate to have the Victoria as all our other beautiful theaters were torn down. People have no idea how important it is to preserve historic buildings that truly embrace you with the high aspirations and longings for artistic excellence and passion that our ancestors strove for. The Victoria was about elegance and beauty.

Bess Saylor, Liberty, Ohio

Shelby Dixon is a Wright State University student working on her Master’s degree in public history. Her goal is to become an archivist, focusing on archival education and technology.

Shelby is working as a project researcher for the Victoria Theatre. One of her responsibilities is to select images and write text for a pictorial timeline display that will be installed on the mezzanine lobby level of the theater in late February.

We asked Shelby to share thoughts about her research.

My love of history stems back to my grandparents’ interest in genealogy and family research. I’ve also had some wonderful history teachers in my life that encouraged me to continue my studies. I love using archival materials, such as document and photo reproductions, to create activities for local school students!

My current role has been to research the entire history of the Victoria Theatre. My favorite part so far has been diving into archival collections and piecing together theatre events in chronological order. It is sometimes hard to break away from such fascinating material at the end of a research day!

I have used archival collections, publications, newspaper microfilm and more to gather information. Most of my research has been conducted at Wright State University’s Special Collections and Archives, University of Dayton Archives and Special Collections, Dayton Metro Library, Dayton History, Montgomery County Records Center & Archives, and the personal collections of community members.

I’ve enjoyed piecing together information by working with community partners and a wide variety of sources. The University of Dayton has a box of photos autographed by Victoria stage actors and it was a bit surreal holding those, knowing how popular these actors, like Ed Wynn, Al Shean, and Edward Gallagher, were at the theatre. I’ve also really enjoyed listening to people tell about their experiences at the Victoria, especially those who were around during the 1970s when the theatre was almost demolished.

Really, there has not been a part of the project I have not enjoyed!