Sparkling onstage in Wilkes-Barre

Transcription

Sunday, September 18, 2016
The Kirby at 30
The F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts has illuminated downtown Wilkes-Barre since 1986 and has been a bright spot on the city’s business and cultural communities.
Sean McKeag | Times Leader
The Kirby Center has been the gold standard for events,
but it started humbly – with a meeting between two giants
By Bill O’Boyle
boboyle@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE — It was sometime
in the mid-1980s when Gus Genetti
heard a knock on his office door.
Genetti, whose family has owned and
operated a hotel/convention center in
downtown Wilkes-Barre since 1979 —
the same hotel that opened in 1906 as
the Reddington — got up from his desk
and walked to the door.
“When I opened (it), there was
nobody there — until I looked down,”
Genetti said.
There, at his door, on his hands
and knees, was Al Boscov, who had
purchased the former “Fowler, Dick &
Walker — The Boston Store” in 1980,
when he changed its name to Boscov’s.
Al Boscov, who said he had seen a
tremendous void in the downtown since
the former Paramount Theater closed
in 1977, was there to ask Genetti, and
eventually hundreds of others in the
community, for help.
“Mr. Boscov crawled into my office,
and he made his case why we needed to
reopen the Paramount,”
Genetti said. “It worked,
not just with me, but with
just about everybody he
approached. He was quite
a guy then, and he still is
today.”
Boscov headed a fundraising team that raised
Genetti
about $3.3 million to
transform the shuttered,
dark Paramount Theater into the F.M.
Kirby Center for the Performing Arts,
which opened on Sept. 19, 1986.
That’s when the lights, as Genetti
said, went on in downtown WilkesBarre.
The new venue was named in honor
of businessman Fred M. Kirby II
because of the Kirby family’s numerous
benevolent contributions to the region,
File Photos
In photo at left, Kirby Center catalyst
Al Boscov, left, enjoys opening night at
the venue on Sept. 19, 1986, with F.M.
Kirby II and Kirby’s wife, Walker. In photo
above, the Times Leader front page from
the following day.
not just to the Paramount and fine arts,
but in areas such as health care, education, religion and recreation.
The family made its first big impact
in the business community when Kirby’s grandfather, Fred M. Kirby, opened
his first five-and-dime store — Kirby
and Woolworth — in Wilkes-Barre
in 1884 on East Market Street. (F.M.
Kirby II died in 2011.)
As for the family’s donation to the
new performing-arts center, the amount
was never specified but was described
as “extremely generous.”
Nowadays, the Kirby Center — a
non-profit organization that this month
is celebrating its 30th anniversary —
is “more financially stable than ever
before,” according to Will Beekman, the
venue’s director since 2013.
Over the years, the Kirby has drawn
hundreds of thousands of people to
downtown, sparking a resurgence of
Public Square and the immediate arteries that feed into it. Restaurants, shops,
a Barnes & Noble, a movie theater and
the promise of a new hotel/convention
center have, at the very least, improved
the look of center city, and all venues
have attracted visitors.
Wico van Genderen, president and
chief executive officer of the Greater
Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Business &
Industry, said he has been to several
places across the country and outside
of it, and he said the Kirby Center is
a “diamond asset” for the community,
both for its citizens and its businesses.
“And if the last three years under
Will Beekman’s leadership is any indication, it will not only continue to grow
stronger, but will continue to make our
Public Square and downtown more
vibrant,” he said.
Beekman said that when attending
a performance, the theater’s patrons
spend an average of an additional $25
per person at downtown restaurants
and bars, parking or taxi services and
child-care services. That equals a poten-
Sparkling onstage in Wilkes-Barre
tial spending of $1.73 million at downtown businesses every year.
And the number of stage performances at the Kirby has increased by 26
percent over the past five years, going
from 82 in 2010 to 103 in 2015.
There have been 98 performances this
year, with more to come, Beekman said,
adding that the shows nowadays are
more diverse and more likely to be ones
that people in this region will attend.
“I think the key point here is that we
are more active than ever in terms of
presenting our own concerts, family
shows and theatrical performances,”
Beekman said. “In past years, our
schedule consisted mostly of films and
performances that were coming in from
outside renters.”
Van Genderen said the refurbishment
and reopening of the Kirby Center in
1986 was in many ways a turning point
for a city that had faced many hardships
in the 1970s and ’80s.
See KIRBY | 12
Times Leader
File Photos
NEPA Philharmonic,
1999
Annie, 1991
Jethro Tull, 2001
George W. Bush, 2004
B.B. King, 2000
Coughlin graduation, 2013
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
KIRBY CENTER 30TH ANNIVERSARY
1938: Planting Kirby’s seeds
By Mary Therese Biebel
mbiebel@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE —
If you scroll through the
pages of Wilkes-Barre
newspapers from 1938,
you’ll find such chilling
headlines as “Austrian
Nazis Defiant” and “Hitler Orders More Power
For Attacks on England.”
Closer to home, city
police searched for a
gunman who had shot
three people, and they
found him hiding under a
feather tick.
Also, the Comerford
theater chain opened a
luxurious flagship on Public Square.
The building would
become the F.M. Kirby
Center for the Performing
Arts in 1986, but in its
original form, it promised
to be a palatial attraction
where audience members
could put aside their
troubles.
“All roads lead to the
Comerford,” the chain
announced in August
1938 in one of several
full-page advertisements
in The Evening News, a
forerunner of the Times
Leader.
A shimmering chandelier, rose-colored windows
and air conditioning were
among the attractions,
along with a taste of the
glamorous Hollywood
world of Don Ameche,
Alice Faye and Tyrone
Power, all of whom
starred in “Alexander’s
Ragtime Band,” the first
movie shown at the new
Comerford Theatre.
Five screenings of the
film were scheduled for
opening day, one after the
other, starting at 1 p.m.
And, in an attempt “to
curb fantastic reports” that
tickets would be “as high
as $10,” the newspaper
said the Comerford would
charge 25 cents per adult
and 15 cents per child at
matinees, and 50 cents
and 25 cents, respectively,
in the evenings.
“I pledge you that upon
this screen and stage you
and yours shall always
find clean, wholesome
entertainment,” Michael
E. Comerford, head of the
movie chain, promised
in an open letter to the
people of Wilkes-Barre.
Some of that early
entertainment, as
described in the advertisements of the day,
included the movie “Too
Hot to Handle,” starring
Clark Gable and Myrna
Loy, and “Sweethearts,”
starring Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy.
Famous vocalists, including Bing Crosby and “Paramount’s new kid find,
Donald O’Connor,” would
appear in “a racing riot of
laughter” called “Sing You
Sinners.”
Photos courtesy of Kirby Center Archives
Visitors mill around in front of the Comerford Theatre in downtown Wilkes-Barre before a screening
of the theater’s opening film in 1938. Inset above: ‘All roads lead to the Comerford,’ according to this
advertisement from August 1938, when the theater opened.
The new
Comerford
listed such
upcoming
films as ‘Too
Hot to Handle’
with Clark
Gable and
Myrna Loy,
and many
other shows.
Movies starring
Fred Astaire and
Ginger Rogers,
as well as many
other Hollywood
luminaries,
would appear at
the Comerford
Theatre on
Wilkes-Barre’s
Public Square.
People loved going to
the movies in the 1930s
and 1940s, according
to local historian Clark
Switzer.
“There are a lot of stories about people going
into the theater and staying most of the day,” he
said.
But even if the Comerford charged only 15
cents for a child at a matinee, not everyone could
afford it.
“We had 12 children in
the family, and we didn’t
go to movies very much,”
said Frances Mercincavage, 94, of Exeter.
If you did make it to
the Comerford, however,
it was very nice, according to Edwin Davies,
a 105-year-old Jenkins
Township resident who
said his favorite actor was
cowboy star Tom Mix.
The late Margaret Mary
Fischer, of Wilkes-Barre,
told a reporter in 2007
that she enjoyed movies
that showcased Shirley
Temple tap dancing,
Deanna Durbin singing,
and Esther Williams
swimming in water ballets. Fischer also recalls
playing on “swings and
teeter-totters” in the Com-
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erford basement.
The Michael Comerford
who brought the Comerford Theatre — complete
with a basement “nursery” — to Wilkes-Barre
was born in 1865 in the
village of Heckscherville
in Schuylkill County,
raised in Plymouth, and
eventually settled in the
Scranton area.
According to a family
history at comerfordfamily.blogspot.com, his
parents were John and
Catherine Comerford,
originally from County
Kilkenny in Ireland, and
his father worked as a
coal miner. Michael was
the seventh of their 10
children and later married
a woman named Margaret
Walters.
Before the age of
motion pictures, Comerford operated vaudeville
theaters, but, by the late
1930s, technology was
changing the entertainment industry.
Movie projectors and
screens went into a Comerford he opened on Sept.
16, 1937, in Scranton.
Almost a year later, on
Aug. 18, 1938, it was
Wilkes-Barre’s turn.
Unfortunately, Michael
Comerford wouldn’t have
much time to attend movies in the newest theater
to bear his name. He died
in January 1939 — five
months after it opened —
in Miami, Fla.
Reach Mary Therese Biebel at 570991-6109 or on Twitter @BiebelMT
TIMES LEADER
OUR VIEW
30 years later,
Kirby Center
still glowing
Oh, those glorious lights.
More than 900 bulbs add the glimmer to
the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing
Arts’ canopy, conveying to passers-by a sense
of glamour about the place and calling attention to what – for 30 years – has been one of
Wilkes-Barre’s most appreciated bright spots.
“When the Kirby opened (in 1986), they
were the only lights on downtown. … There
wasn’t hardly anything else,” area hotelier Gus
Genetti has said.
The entertainment venue on Public Square
became a community rallying point during the
1970s and ’80s, and it remains a shining example of what is possible when area residents
work together.
Formerly a movie house, the art deco structure paved the way in many respects for subsequent revitalization efforts in the city’s hub.
Consequently, the Kirby Center’s milestone
anniversaries – 20 years, 25 years, and now
three decades – act not so much to mark the
longevity of a theater, but to commemorate a
spirit.
The building once seemed to be destined for
a wrecking ball, but in 2015, the Kirby for the
first time cracked Pollstar magazine’s Top 200
ranking of theaters, based on ticket sales for
the year. It was listed at No. 114.
“We are not yet where we want to be,” Kirby
Center Executive Director Will Beekman said
at the time. “But we’re very proud of how far
we have come.”
In the mid-year rankings for 2016, the Kirby
is 99th.
Opened to the public in August 1938, the
lavishly decorated destination was known as
the Comerford Theatre. It was outfitted with
air conditioning, hearing-aid-equipped seats
and “a nursery with a matron,” according to
the Kirby Center’s website, www.kirbycenter.
org.
Ownership of the movie house changed in
1949; it became known as the Paramount Theater. The building survived as a single-screen
cinema for nearly three decades, then mostly
fell into disuse. It sometimes served as the site
of closed-circuit-television boxing matches.
Residents started a grass-roots movement
in the 1970s to spare the building from likely
demolition, and even got it added to the
National Register of Historic Places.
Then, in 1985, department store magnate
Albert Boscov famously led an effort to raise
more than $3 million to rehabilitate the structure, which took the name of one of the fundraising campaign’s biggest benefactors, Fred
M. Kirby II. Patrons in tuxedos and fur coats
attended the opening-night gala on Sept. 19,
1986.
During its inaugural season, the Kirby Center reportedly lost more than $50,000. For
much of its first decade, the center’s continued
existence was considered iffy, jeopardized by
funding cuts, administrative miscues and fickle
audiences.
Since those early days, there have been
management turnovers and building makeovers, including updates courtesy of a “Take
Your Seats, Please” campaign conducted to
commemorate the Kirby’s 20th anniversary. A
scrolling marquee sign has been added.
And, each year, the shows go on.
“It’s the place we go to see comedian Gallagher whack a watermelon and philharmonic
conductor Lawrence Loh coax heartache from
a violin,” the Times Leader editorialized earlier this year.
We attend weddings at the Kirby. Commencement ceremonies, too. Its elegant auditorium is where we celebrate our successes
and share our humanity through music, magic,
movies, dance and other forms of expression.
At 30, the Kirby Center continues to be a
beacon for this community.
May its glow never dim.
TIMES LEADER
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
TIMES LEADER
Kirby Center draws admiration in industry
By Jerry Lynott
jlynott@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE — Knowing the market as he does, John
Cardoni wants to see the Kirby
Center succeed.
It’s in his best interest, even
though Cardoni serves as general manager of the Scranton
Cultural Center.
“I think … all the halls in the
region, we respect each other
in terms of what we’re trying to
do,” Cardoni said.
The Kirby Center is a venue
to look up to in the Northeast,
according to Cardoni and other
theater executives.
Cardoni said he doesn’t see
the Cultural Center as a competitor to the similarly sized
downtown Wilkes-Barre venue
nearly 20 miles away. Cardoni
has worked at both, serving for
15 years at the Kirby in assistant general manager and technical director positions and for
the past 15 as general manager
at the Cultural Center.
“I was there opening night,”
Cardoni said of the Kirby on
Sept. 19, 1986.
He recalled that instead of
going home to Kingston, he
rented a room at the former
Ramada Hotel across Public
Square for the first couple of
nights so he could catch a few
hours of sleep to keep up with
the breakneck pace of putting
on back-to-back-to-back shows,
a total of 20 in the Kirby’s first
14 days.
He’s now 15 years removed
from the Kirby and has watched
it develop into a small theater
capable of drawing big-name
acts and a wide range of
shows, and then filling seats
with patrons from beyond the
hyphenated city.
The Kirby Center and the
Cultural Center both have about
1,800 seats.
The industry trade publication Pollstar ranked the Kirby
99th on its mid-year list of the
world’s top 100 theaters, based
on ticket sales. The Kirby
reported 36,527 tickets sold
through June 30 and is on pace
to exceed the 53,000 the venue
sold all of last year, when it
cracked the Pollstar list for the
first time, ranking No. 114 out
of 200 theaters worldwide.
Cardoni has high praise for
Kirby Executive Director Will
Beekman and Director of Operations Drew Taylor.
“Will and Drew, they have to
be incredibly resourceful and
creative on certain shows to get
them in there. Here I have the
luxury of space,” Cardoni said.
The Cultural Center, known
to many as the Masonic Temple,
has hosted Broadway shows for
53 years and can accommodate
productions without having to
downsize them, as the Kirby
does. Besides having an orchestra pit in front of the main stage,
there is a nearly 6,000 squarefoot ballroom behind it, giving
plenty of room for full-scale productions, Cardoni noted.
“The Cultural Center was
built for theater,” Cardoni said.
That’s the case too for the
Hershey Theatre in Hershey. It
dates to 1933 and was home to
vaudeville shows.
“Over the years it has grown
and blossomed, said Melissa
Stradnick, public relations
manager for Hershey Entertainment.
The 1,904-seat venue placed
82nd on the Pollstar mid-year
list with 46,097 tickets sold.
Stradnick said the theater holds
more than 75 events annually.
“We are very fortunate. We
have very few dark days,”
Stradnick said, adding that the
theater has good relationships
with booking agents, artists like
to return to the venue, and it’s
located three hours from several
big cities.
The Kirby, on the other hand,
started in 1938 as a movie theater that was converted into a
performance space.
The clear sight lines, concert
hall acoustics and up-close-andpersonal seating fit the bill for
performers, something Bob
Nocek has learned from experience. The president of Durham,
N.C.-based Bob Nocek Presents
LLC began his career in the
business as program manager
at the Kirby in 2000 and moved
on to the Mohegan Sun Arena
at Casey Plaza in 2003, where
he held several posts, eventually
getting promoted to assistant
general manager.
“There are a lot of artists out
there that appreciate playing a
historic theater,” Nocek said.
Brian Sipe, general manager
of the Mohegan Sun Arena, said
he views the Kirby as “a partner
in presenting world-class entertainment to Wilkes-Barre.”
The two venues usually don’t
go after the same acts and have
begun collaborating on promoting the market, he said.
“The Kirby Center has
brought in acts like Ringo Starr
and Patti LaBelle,” Sipe said.
“You don’t get world-class entertainment like that unless you
have a (great) reputation in the
industry.”
Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on
Twitter @TLJerryLynott
TIMES LEADER
BEFORE AND AFTER THE SHOWS
Here are some Wilkes-Barre
eateries within walking
distance — about a halfmile — of the Kirby Center:
ASIAN KITCHEN
Address: 121 S. Main St.
Hours: MondaysThursdays, 10:30 a.m.-10
p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays,
10:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m.;
Sundays, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m.
Info: 570-822-0302.
asiankitchenwilkesbarre.
com
Pricing: under $15
BART & URBY’S
Hours: MondaysSaturdays, 4 p.m.-2 a.m.
Info: 570-970-9570,
bartandurby.com
Pricing: under $20
CAFE TOSCANA
Address: 1 Public Square
Hours: Weekdays, 10:30
a.m.-10 p.m.; Saturdays,
5-10 p.m.
Info: 570-208-1252,
cafetoscanarestaurant.com
Pricing: under $25
CIRCLES ON THE SQUARE
Hours: Weekdays, 10:30
a.m.-5:30 p.m.; Saturdays,
10:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m.
(seasonal)
Info: 570-829-4005,
circlesonthesquare.biz
Pricing: under $15
FRANK’S PIZZERIA AND
RISTORANTE
Hours: MondaysThursdays, 10:30 a.m.-11
p.m.; Fridays, 10:30 a.m.midnight; Saturdays, 11
a.m.- midnight; Sundays,
noon-10 p.m.
Info: 570-822-2168,
frankspizzawb.com
Pricing: under $20
JANUZZI’S PIZZA
Address: 20 E.
Northampton St.
Hours: MondaysThursdays, 11 a.m.-10:30
p.m.; Fridays-Saturdays, 11
a.m.-midnight; Sundays,
noon-10:30 p.m.
Info: 570-825-5166; no
website
Pricing: under $20
KATANA
Hours: TuesdaysThursdays; 11:30 a.m.-2:30
p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m.;
Fridays-Saturdays, 5-10
p.m.; Sundays, 5-9 p.m.
Info: 570-825-9080,
katanawb.com
Pricing: under $30
LETTS EAT
Hours: MondaysThursdays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.;
Fridays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.;
Saturdays, 11:30 a.m.-10
p.m.
Info: 570-371-3890/3891,
letts-eat.com
Pricing: under $20
LE MANHATTAN BISTRO
Hours: MondaysThursdays, 4:30-10 p.m.;
Fridays-Saturdays, 4:30-11
p.m.; Sundays, 10 a.m.-2
p.m.
Info: 570-706-9588,
lemanhattanbistro.com
Pricing: under $40
MIMMO’S PIZZA
Hours: Mondays-Fridays,
7 a.m.-6 p.m.; Saturdays,
11 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sundays,
noon-5 p.m.
Info: 570-824-7101; no
website
Pricing: under $20
OYSTER RESTAURANT
Address: 77 E. Market St.
Hours: MondaysThursdays, 5-10 p.m.;
Fridays-Saturdays, 5-11 p.m.
Info: 570-820-0990,
oysterrestaurant.com
Pricing: under $40
RODANO’S
Hours: MondaysSaturdays, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.;
Sundays, 11 a.m.-9 p.m.
Info: 570-829-6444,
rodanos.com
Pricing: under $20
THAI THAI
Hours: MondaysThursdays, 11 a.m.-3
p.m. and 4:30-9:30 p.m.;
Fridays-Saturdays, 11 a.m.-3
p.m. and 4:30-10 p.m.
Info: 570-824-9599,
thaithaiwilkesbarre.com
Pricing: under $20
Hours are subject to change
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
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Whether a musician or patron,
venue a destination
By Matt Mattei
mmattei@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE — Its shining
brass doors and classic theater
marquee invite entertainment
seekers into an art deco masterpiece, but the F.M. Kirby Center
is one of Wilkes-Barre’s treasures
for more than its nod to the times
of grand theater architecture in
America.
The house, which seats between
1,808 and 1,832, depending on the
availability of pit seating, attracts
concert-goers and musicians with
reliable acoustics, spacious seating
and friendly staff.
For area musicians, the Kirby
becomes a stage to aspire to. For
music lovers, it arguably is the
best place to see a show in Northeastern Pennsylvania.
Dupont songwriter/guitarist Bret Alexander is a thriving
solo artist and producer, but in
1997, he took the Kirby stage as
a founding member of local roots
rock group The Badlees, who had
reached national recognition with
their 1995 release “River Songs.”
“From the artist’s standpoint,
being from here and being able
to come back and play the Kirby,
that’s a pretty big touchstone,”
Alexander said. “It’s one of those
places where you feel like you’ve
arrived if you can play there.”
While Alexander spoke of the
significance of standing on the
Kirby stage, Rick Orlando, of Harveys Lake, provided the perspective of an avid audience member.
Orlando said he has seen about
100 live music performances and
can compare the Kirby Center to
other regional theaters.
“In the grand scheme of things,
in terms of small venues, the
Kirby is way up on top, and I’m
talking about venues down to
Reading and Harrisburg and up to
Binghamton, New York,” Orlando
said. “The comfort level is top of
the line.”
Orlando said the customer ser-
Amanda Hrycyna | For Times Leader
Northeastern Pennsylvania bluegrass band Cabinet performs at the Kirby Center often
during the Christmas season. Mandolin player J.P. Biondo says he always appreciates
the sound in the Kirby, whether he’s playing or enjoying the show as a fan.
The F.M. Kirby Center seats
over 1,800 people on the
orchestra and balcony
levels, both of which provide
a great view of the stage in
the intimate theater.
Aimee Dilger | Times Leader
vice at the theater also makes it
stand out among venues of comparable size.
Other facilities also are familiar
to J.P. Biondo. The Scranton resident and mandolin player/vocalist
in NEPA bluegrass band Cabinet
has visited a multitude of theaters,
including the Kirby, as a fan and
performer, and said he appreciates
the Kirby’s acoustics.
“I think it sounds great in
there,” Biondo said. “And I feel
pretty good about saying that,
because I saw John Hiatt and Lyle
Lovett there (2015), and it was
just the two of them sitting on
stage with acoustic guitars. When
they were playing, you could hear
a pin drop in the place, and the
sound was clean, clear and crisp.
On the other end, I saw Tedeschi
Trucks Band there (2015), and
they are considerably louder …
and I could still hear everything
really great.”
Biondo calls himself a “big-time
vocals guy” and said he’s never
had a problem hearing them at the
Kirby.
Equally as important on the
vocal front are the comedy shows
that come through the WilkesBarre theater.
Exeter native Victor Pacchioni
lives in Northampton, but he
recalls a trip to the Kirby Center
to see comedian George Carlin
perform in 2005.
“Everything’s a positive there,”
Pacchioni said. “The atmosphere
is great. The old-style seats are
comfortable. I saw George Carlin. He was one of the funniest
men alive, and seeing him at the
Kirby was up close and personal. I
wasn’t sitting up front, but I heard
everything.”
Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651 or Twitter
@TLArts
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SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
TIMES LEADER
Cocker, King among rock highlights
By Matt Mattei
WILKES-BARRE —
Narrowing the list of the
greatest rock ‘n’ roll concerts at the Kirby Center
over the past 30 years is
daunting, considering
the Wilkes-Barre theater
has booked some of the
biggest names in rock
since its launch in 1986.
Those names include
Joe Cocker, Bob Dylan
and the Allman Brothers
Band, all of whom graced
the stage in the Kirby’s
first six years. Blues
artist B.B. King, who
had an undeniable influence on rock music, also
played several shows in
the 1990s and 2000s.
Not to be overshadowed by days passed, the
theater’s administration
continues to book some
of the biggest names in
the genre today.
The first rock show
at the Kirby was performed by Chuck Berry
on Oct. 19, 1986. At the
time, Berry, 60, had just
become a member of the
first induction class at
the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame.
In a Times Leader article from Oct. 20 of that
year, Dave Janoski wrote,
“Berry played for more
than an hour, mixing
classics like ‘Roll Over
Beethoven’ and ‘Johnny
B. Goode’ with several
old blues standards …
Berry’s short but spirited
show left the vocal audience of young and old
satisfied … proving that
if you like rock ‘n’ roll,
you’ve got to like Chuck
Berry.”
Cocker appeared at the
Kirby on Oct. 7, 1989,
and again on Feb. 13,
2005. Perhaps the most
Bob Dylan
Fred A. Adams | Times Leader file photo
The late B.B. King took the Kirby Center stage several times, including this performance on Feb. 2, 2003. Of King’s gig, Times Leader
reporter Alan K. Stout wrote: ‘With his trusty Gibson “Lucille” in hand … he consistently fired off his thick, minimalist-style riffs and
solos that have become his trademark.’
Times Leader archives
Joe Cocker performed at the F.M. Kirby Center in 1989 and again,
seen here, in 2005. Kevin Severnak of Forty Fort called the ‘89
performance ‘an exceptional show.’
Chuck Berry performs during the first rock concert ever at the
Kirby Center, on Oct. 19, 1986. He sang with his daughter Ingrid in
front of a packed house. At the time, the 60-year-old rock pioneer
already was in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
celebrated cover artist
of all time, Cocker was
known for soulful versions of other artist’s
songs.
After the 1989 show
— where the sandpapervoiced singer delivered
stylized renditions of the
Beatles’ “With A Little
that the glitz of today’s
glam-rock isn’t needed
to put on a good rock
show.”
Kevin Severnak, 53, of
Forty Fort, said it was
“an exceptional show” in
which Cocker delivered
a memorable interpretation of Randy Newman’s
Don Carey | Times Leader file photo
Help From My Friends”
and Traffic’s “Feelin’
Alright,” as well as his
new original “When The
Night Comes” — the
Times Leader called
Cocker “a truly legendary solo rock performer”
and said, “He showed his
Wilkes-Barre audience
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“You Can Leave Your Hat
On.”
“He played for a long
time, and the band went
into this long jam session while Cocker took
a break,” Severnak said.
“Then they did something like six encore
tunes after that.”
Two years after Cocker
visited for the first time,
Bob Dylan brought his
enigmatic presence to
the Kirby Center. His
sold-out performance on
Nov. 15, 1991, was rife,
in typical Dylan form,
with new arrangements
of his classic hits.
Times Leader correspondent Brian Turner
wrote that the folk icon
played a “boogie shuffle
version of ‘Maggie’s
Farm’ ” and a “Gotta
Serve Somebody” that
became “a swamp
stomp.”
“The crowd loved it all,
and the 50-year-old performer, under dim lights
through the set, seemed
to have a good attitude
as well,” Turner wrote.
Dylan returned in
1992 and 1994, although
his first performance
brought the largest
crowd, 1,843 people, of
the three shows.
Kirby Center Executive Director Will Beekman attended the ‘94
show, the only time he
was inside the theater
before being hired in the
marketing department
there in 2010.
“He played two sets —
the first acoustic and the
second electric,” Beekman said. “The acoustic
set was amazing. When
he returned … he went
full electric, and while it
was still very cool to see,
it was less enjoyable for
me. That being said, it
goes down as one of the
most memorable concerts I’ve ever seen, and
the ticket stub sits in my
office to this day.”
Doug Wolfe, of WilkesBarre Township, said
he considers the Allman
See ROCK | 7
TIMES LEADER
7
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
Willie, Tony, others show it’s not just rock
AND THE WINNER IS …
WILKES-BARRE — Willie Nelson threw his bandana
into an appreciative crowd,
Tony Bennett explained that
Bob Hope simplified his name
from Anthony Benedetto for
a tour, and Diana Ross invited
her audience to sing along to
“Reach Out and Touch (Somebody’s Hand.)”
Those are just a few
moments area residents have
experienced during some of the
most popular country, classical,
jazz and easy-listening concerts
at the F.M. Kirby Center over
the past 30 years.
While Nelson, Bennett and
Ross received the most early
votes for the best non-rock concert in an online poll of Times
Leader readers, other music
fans chose performances that
may be less famous.
Suzanne McCabe, of Swoyersville, named Steve Martin
when asked about the best
Kirby show she’s ever seen.
WILKES-BARRE — Country
legend Willie Nelson has come
out on top of a Times Leader
poll, earning 44 percent of
the votes from readers who
responded online this summer
to a question about the best
F.M. Kirby Center concert in
genres other than rock.
Pop diva Diana Ross came
in second with 22 percent,
followed by Tony Bennett, Tom
Jones and Norah Jones with 11
percent.
Times Leader File Photo
Country artist Willie Nelson performs
at the Kirby Center on Sept. 11, 2014.
Martin, known primarily as a
comedian and actor, appeared
in July 2013 as a banjo player
with the bluegrass quintet The
Steep Canyon Rangers.
“That was just terrific,”
McCabe said.
Betty Rafalko, of Benton,
agreed and added in a Face-
KIRBY QUOTABLES
“They seem to be kicking out a lot better acts the last
couple years, and people seem to be supporting them.
They seem to have really improved, and we always do
good business when there are good shows there.”
— Jay Notartomaso, 55, West Wyoming resident and
owner of Musical Energi on North Main Street in
Wilkes-Barre
“It’s a major asset to the community,
I think it gives downtown a sense of
excitement and a sense of culture,
and I think we’re really fortunate to
have it in our area.”
— Brittany Boote,
28, Wilkes-Barre
“I think they’re a standard bearer for
organizations. I do a lot of work with
Little Theatre (of Wilkes-Barre), and
I think that they are a role model
for theaters and performing-arts
venues not just in how they do
business, but why. They’re really
true to their mission and their core
values.”
— John Dawe, 35, Kingston
“It’s nice having a theater there that
allows us to experience some sort of
culture in this town.”
— Amy Bellanca,
37, Wilkes-Barre
“I think it’s a great place. I’ve seen a
lot of shows there over the years.”
— Steven Shatrowskas,
23, Shavertown resident
“I went to Wilkes (University). I was
on the programming board, and they
let us use it for concerts. They do
great things.”
— Ben Eaton,
23, West Wyoming
“I went to my first show at the
Paramount Theater, the first theater
in that spot (sic). It was Chicago; it
was my father’s concert; I was there
as a little kid. It’s a great addition
to the community because it gives
us a chance for all sorts of cultural
events.”
— Joe Nardone Jr., 50,
Wilkes-Barre resident and
co-owner of Gallery of Sound
locations in the area
“I used to take my kids to see
‘Sesame Street Live’; I looked
forward to it every year. They’re great
memories.”
— Terri Lacey,
47, Clarks Summit
“I think generations of NEPA folks
have been entertained and created
memories at the Kirby Center.
My fondest memory of the Kirby
was seeing a student production
of ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ with my
grandmother.”
— Samuel O’Connell, 25,
Dallas resident and co-creator of
the music app Tunefly
“The Kirby Center brings life to downtown WilkesBarre. As of recently, it brings people from all ages and
backgrounds together, and it brings people from out of
town into the community, and business into downtown
Wilkes-Barre.”
— Frank Rodano, 58, Kingston resident and owner
of the Rodano’s and Franklin’s establishments in
Wilkes-Barre
book message that she found it
charming that Martin rode his
bicycle before the Wilkes-Barre
concert.
“Got to like the fact that he
would cycle around town,” she
wrote.
Martin lost his wallet as he
rode, Rafalko recalled, but a
passer-by found it in front of
Boscov’s department store and
brought it to the Kirby Center.
“The gentleman couldn’t
have been sweeter, nicer, kinder, and his Batman-like rescue
of my wallet is one more reason
to remember Wilkes-Barre,”
Martin said at the time through
a spokeswoman.
Other music fans give high
marks to the Northeastern
Pennsylvania Philharmonic concerts held on the Kirby stage.
Wilkes-Barre resident Mary
Ruth Burke fondly remembers
bringing her children, dressed
as Luke Skywalker and Princess
Leia, to a “Philharmonic Pops”
concert that featured music
created by composer John
Williams for the “Star Wars,”
“Harry Potter” and “Superman”
movies.
Burke said, to the delight of
the audience members, that
conductor Lawrence Loh told
them how he used to play with
Superman action figures as a
boy.
Frank Pasquini, of Kingston,
recalls enjoying a concert by
Juilliard-trained Neil Sedaka,
who combined some of his Top
40 hits with classical pieces he
played “on a magnificent baby
grand.”
Sedaka was “a very accommodating and pleasant conversationalist,” said Pasquini, who
spoke face-to-face with the artist after the show.
Kingston resident Pam Fendrock noted she hadn’t realized
she was a fan of Mary Chapin
Carpenter until she heard the
country artist in concert at the
Kirby in April 2007.
That concert was amazing,
Fendrock said.
“More recently,” she added,
“the simplicity of a Diana
Krall concert stage was the
perfect backdrop to one of the
most inspiring concerts I’ve
attended.”
The jazz pianist’s March
2015 show was extremely
enjoyable, Fendrock noted,
even though “the man next to
us drank too much and we were
afraid he would fall over the
balcony rail.”
Fortunately, no such mishaps
have occurred at the Kirby.
Our readers’ poll: Santana the best
By Matt Mattei
KIRBY
ON THE WEB
WILKES-BARRE —
Since 1986, the F.M.
Kirby Center has put legendary rock ‘n’ roll acts on
its stage.
On Sept. 1, we presented Times Leader
readers with a list of 12
rock concerts that could
be considered among
the best to come to the
theater. Candidates were
chosen based on reputation of the group, concert
attendance and quality of
performance, but careful
consideration also was
given to diversifying the
pool of acts to cover multiple genres of rock and
artists who influenced
that style of music.
Santana earned the
honor of best rock concert, garnering 25 percent
of the votes. B.B. King
and Alice Cooper were
the runners-up with 16.7
percent.
Performances on the
ballot consisted of Santana, Sept. 13, 1988; Joe
Cocker, Oct. 7, 1989;
Joan Jett, Feb. 2, 1989;
Rock
From page 6
Brothers’ show on March
8, 1992, to be among
the best he’s seen at the
Kirby. During that era,
original guitarist Dickey
Betts dueled with slide
expert Warren Haynes.
Wolfe said he recalls
an electrifying “Statesboro Blues” to open the
set, along with acoustic
versions of “Midnight
Rider” and Robert Johnson’s “Come On In My
Kitchen.”
“They played an amazing show,” Wolfe said.
“The acoustic set was a
highlight, and when they
went back into electric,
I knew they’d play ‘(In
Memory Of) Elizabeth
Reed.’”
Joe Nardone Sr.
booked and promoted
the first of B.B. King’s
performances at the
Kirby and considers
King among the best to
play there.
After that show on
May 27, 1990, Times
Leader correspondent
Jeff Walsh called King
the “king of blues” and
said the songs “Caledonia,” “Nobody Loves Me
But My Mother” and
a show-stopping “The
Thrill Is Gone” were
among the focal points.
Other notable acts
Videos
2016 — Space Oddity:
The Ultimate David
Bowie Experience:
http://tinyurl.com/
h2zcfte
2012 — Vicki Lawrence:
http://tinyurl.com/
h4ktq29
AP Photo
Carlos Santana performs at a concert in Israel in July. His band,
Santana, won the Times Leader’s readership poll for best rock
concert in the history of Wilkes-Barre’s F.M. Kirby Center.
Bob Dylan, Nov. 15, 1991;
Allman Brothers Band,
March 8, 1992; Bruce
Hornsby, Sept. 3, 1995;
Jethro Tull, Aug. 30, 2001;
David Crosby and Graham
Nash, Oct. 9, 2007; B.B.
King, Nov. 18, 2007; Alice
Cooper, Oct. 18, 2013;
Chris Cornell, Oct. 17,
2015; and Joe Walsh, Aug.
4, 2016.
A Times Leader article
covering the 1988 Santana
performance said, in part:
“Surrounded by most of
the lineup of his original
band, Santana pulled
magic from the past and
continued his long-lived
career and reputation as
one of the most prolific
guitarists in pop music
history.”
Doug Wolfe of WilkesBarre Township was in
attendance that evening,
and said he considers the
performance one of the
greatest he’s seen at the
Kirby Center.
“It was unbelievable,”
Wolfe said. “Santana was
incredible that night. It
was the original band,
something like their
20th anniversary. It was
Michael Shrieve, and
to perform at the Kirby
include Joan Jett in 1989,
Jethro Tull in 2001, and
David Crosby and Graham Nash in 2007, but
two of the most memorable in recent history
include Chris Cornell in
2015 and Joe Walsh this
year.
Wilkes-Barre-based
musician Aaron Fink
attended the Cornell and
Walsh shows and ranks
them among his favorites
to play at the Kirby.
“In the last couple
years, the artists they’ve
been getting are top
notch,” Fink said.
Cornell delivered a
28-tune songbook that
featured his solo work
as well as songs from his
days with Soundgarden
and Audioslave.
“Cornell has reached
legendary status, in my
2012 — Pink Floyd
Experience: http://
tinyurl.com/jyq8mkb
2011 — Paula
Poundstone: http://
tinyurl.com/zaycn47
2011 — Kirby Center
25th anniversary:
http://tinyurl.com/
jlg4l6k
This section
later in the week:
www.timesleader.com
they had Gregg Rolie and
Chester Thompson on
keyboards. I was front-row
center, and for most of
that show, I made total eye
contact with Carlos.
“It was great.”
Reach Matt Mattei at 570-991-6651
or Twitter @TLArts
opinion,” Fink said. “I
think he’s one of America’s great songwriters
and one of America’s
greatest singers. He
tore it up. His voice was
killer, and it seemed
effortless for him. His
catalog was amazing.
It was great song after
great song.”
Reach Matt Mattei at 570-9916651 or Twitter @TLArts
See
Our
Hobby
Center!
Congratulations Kirby
Center on your 30th
Anniversary!
Walter’s Hardware
DO IT CENTER
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8
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
TIMES LEADER
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
Celebrating
30 years
of shows
30
Years
of
Music
Theatre
Dance &
Comedy
Photo courtesy of Kirby Center
Kirby Center box-office lobby, 2011
Elmo and friends
from Sesame Street Live,
2000
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell, 2013
Times Leader file photos
We
Applaud
You!
Ain’t Misbehavin’, 1986
Local graduations: five sets of twins in the Holy Redeemer
High School Class of 2013
Jewel, 2004
Cirque D’Or
acrobatic routines,
2012
West
Side
Story,
1990
The Temptations, 2011
Kirby Center’s rich history began nearly 80 years ago
1937: The M.E. Comerford 45-theater chain,
located in Northeastern Pennsylvania and
New York, decides to put its flagship location
where the Kirby Center stands today, at 71
Public Square. The Comerford replaced a bus
terminal, a printing company, a stonecutter
File photos
After a transfer of ownership in July of 1949, the
Comerford Theatre was renamed the Paramount
Theater until it closed in late 1977.
and a drugstore.
Aug. 18, 1938: The
Comerford opens
to the public,
showing the movie
“Alexander’s
Ragtime Band,”
which starred Tyrone
Power, Don Ameche
and Alice Faye.
July 2, 1949: Due
to an anti-trust
F.M. Kirby II, 1983
lawsuit, ownership
of the Comerford
Theatre is transferred to the Penn Paramount
Company for $1, and the building is renamed
the Paramount Theater. It operated as a singlescreen movie palace for another 28 years.
Sept. 16, 1975: Pitt-Sportservice of Buffalo buys
the theater and property from Hallmark Inc.
for $138,000. Hallmark had become the owner
of the cinema and properties through a series
of mergers.
1977: The Paramount closes late in the year and
is transferred to various exhibitors and owners
through the early 1980s. The venue is used for
touring concerts and closed-circuit-TV boxing
matches.
Late ’70s/early ’80s: In an effort to remodel
the building to accommodate various small-
business operations, the box-office lobby is
gutted, large fluted lighting standards are sold
or demolished, the brass and bronze door
frames are cut, and curved glass display cases
plus the brass and marble exterior ticket
booth are removed. The business ventures
are unsuccessful, and with a deteriorating
building, the next step was projected to be
demolition.
1978: A group of local residents forms under the
acronym STOP (Save The Old Paramount) in
an attempt to have the building added to the
National Register of Historic Places. Even so, it
basically was abandoned.
Dec. 3, 1980: The venue officially becomes listed
on the National Register of Historic Places.
1985: Albert Boscov, owner of Boscov’s — one
of the nation’s largest, privately owned
department store chains — wants to say
“thank you” to the people of Wilkes-Barre for
making his downtown store successful. So
along with businessman August L. Simms,
and with the help of Fred M. Kirby II and the
Kirby Foundation, Boscov assembles a team
that includes local business and civic leaders
to put together a drive to raise $3.3 million
for the acquisition and restoration of the
theater. Kirby was an heir to the Woolworth’s
department-store chain and a native of the
Wilkes-Barre area, and Simms was chairman
Workers put
the final
touches on
the foyer of
the Kirby
Center on
Sept. 18, 1986,
a day before
the dedication
ceremony
of the
refurbished
entertainment
venue.
of the board of Petroleum Service Company of
Wilkes-Barre.
Dec. 21, 1985: The Paramount Civic Center
restoration project is launched at an estimated
price of $1.2 million and is completed in just
under nine months. Seating capacity will be
1,850. The facility is renamed the F.M. Kirby
Center in honor of Fred Morgan Kirby II.
Sept. 19, 1986: The F.M. Kirby Center for the
Performing Arts opens on a Friday night to
a gala performance of the American Ballet
Theatre’s premiere of its “Celebration Tour,”
which featured prima ballerina Cynthia
Gregory and the Northeastern Pennsylvania
Philharmonic. The Wilkes-Barre Ballet Theatre
also performs Ravel’s “Bolero.” The Kirby
Center featured a restored interior styled in
jewel tones of maroon, rose and gold, along
with an art deco proscenium frame and friezes.
Sept. 29, 2006: After four months of
refurbishment, the Kirby Center holds a public
open house with a screening of “Alexander’s
Ragtime Band,” the film that opened the
Comerford Theatre on Aug. 18, 1938.
Sept. 30, 2011: The Kirby celebrates its 25th
anniversary with a performance by Diana Ross.
May 2014: A new sound system is installed,
and as part of the restoration for the art deco
auditorium, custom-painted gold arrays blend
into the gilt wood proscenium arch.
December
2015: The
Kirby Center
debuts at No.
114 on the list
of Top 200
performingarts centers
in the world
as ranked
by Pollstar,
the concert
industry’s
leading trade
publication.
June 2016: The
Kirby is 99th
in Pollstar’s
mid-year
rankings of
the Top 100
theaters.
Auditorio
Nacional in
The program from the
Mexico City is No. 1.
Sources:
www.kirbycenter.org,
Times Leader archives
dedication celebration of
the F.M. Kirby Center for
the Performing Arts on
Sept. 19, 1986.
9
10
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
Q&A WITH THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Surprise promotion, a vision — and the Mets
By Gene Axton
gaxton@timesleader.com
Will Beekman has worked
at the F.M. Kirby Center since
2010, including the past three
years as its director.
But the theater hasn’t been
his life’s work. The Poconos
native and Penn State graduate
worked for the Wilkes-Barre/
Scranton Penguins from 2002
to 2008, and at the Bryce
Jordan Center arena in University Park from 2008 to 2010.
He was appointed the Kirby
Center’s managing director in
December 2013 and promoted
to executive director Jan. 1,
2015.
In a recent interview with
the Times Leader, Beekman,
38, talked about his past, his
present and his vision for the
Kirby’s future, as well as about
Elvis Costello and his beloved
New York Mets.
The interview has been
edited for brevity.
Q
A
What did
you do with
the Penguins?
Everything. I started
out as their communications manager,
worked in their marketing
department for a few years,
and ended up becoming their
director of creative services.
Q
A
How did you
become executive
director at the
Kirby Center?
Well, I worked here
for a few years in
marketing, and
then our programming director at the time left for a new
job. Marilyn Santarelli (the
Kirby’s executive director at
the time) said, “Do you think
you can book shows?” I said
yes, and I really meant no. I
figured I would just jump and
kind of learn how to fly on
my way down, so I started
KIRBY EXECUTIVE
DIRECTORS
Stephen Carr
1986-87
Curtis Montz (acting)
1987-89
John Loesser
1989-91
Dennis Madden
1991-92
Tom Hillgrove
1992-98
Marilyn Santarelli
1999-2014
Will Beekman
2015-present
Sean McKeag | Times Leader
Kirby Center Executive Director Will Beekman says the show he most would
like to book at the venue is musician Tom Waits.
and I worked really hard and
I went to a bunch of booking
conferences and I started to
understand that part of the
business. I booked shows and
was handling the marketing
for a year or two, and Marilyn
retired after 15 years here. I
figured people don’t come and
go in those positions often, so
as much as I felt it was a long
shot, I figured I’d throw my hat
into the ring for that (director)
position. I interviewed for it
with the board, and I was surprised when I was told. In a lot
of ways when I think about it
2 1/2 years later now, I’m still
surprised by it.
Q
What is your mission at the Kirby,
and how are you
embodying that
with your tenure?
A
To bring the arts and
arts education into
this community. We
want to be the place in this
area where you can go to see
the opera because you aren’t
going to see it anywhere else.
It’s about introducing kids to
the arts and to live theater at
an early age. It sounds cliche,
but it’s just as important for us,
if not more important for us, to
book the ballet than it is for us
to book Jerry Seinfeld.
Q
Pollstar recently
named the Kirby
one of the Top 100
theater venues in
the world. What was it like
when you got that news, and
what did you think?
A
Well, that was their
mid-year report, so
our immediate goal
is to keep ourselves in that top
100 for when they come out
with the year-end results in January. We broke into the top 200
last year for the first time, and
then we set a goal to get into
that top 100. We know we’ve
been busy, and we know we’re
selling tickets, but you can’t
speak for all the other venues
out there and how well they’re
doing. I think what we’re proud
of the most is you see the F.M.
Kirby Center on the same list
as Radio City or Royal Albert
Hall or Chicago Theatre or Fox
Theatre in Atlanta.
Q
A
What do you see for
the Kirby Center’s
future?
I think we just want
to keep improving overall as a
performing-arts center in every
aspect. We want to continue
to be financially sustainable
and keep this building, this
1938 building. There are some
old pipes in here, and there’s a
lot that we need to do to keep
this building operating. The
roof’s an old roof. The floor’s
an old floor. We’re continuing to do what we do from a
programming and fundraising
standpoint while focusing on
keeping this building intact.
Q
Do you have any
memories of the
Kirby Center as
a child? Does anything notable stick out in
your head?
A
I do and it’s funny.
I was here once my
entire life prior to
coming here for the interview.
I grew up in the Poconos,
and when I was younger if
you needed to get anything
done, wanted to rent a movie
or get a haircut – I don’t have
to worry about that these
days – or go to the mall you
had to go either a half-hour
south to Stroudsburg or a
half-hour north to Scranton.
We never really ventured to
Wilkes-Barre. It was 1991 and
I was right around the age
when you start to realize your
parents’ music isn’t lame and
all of a sudden this Bob Dylan
guy that I always thought was
just some guy with a weirdsounding voice was just this
incredible songwriter and he
was coming here. My parents,
I overheard them talking like
they were getting tickets to see
Bob Dylan, and I said I wanted
to go. I remember how excited
my dad was that I wanted to
see Bob Dylan. I still have my
ticket stub. He did two sets,
no opener. He did an acoustic
set that was just amazing, and
then he did an electric set,
which was still amazing, but
I’ve always felt Dylan electric
lost the lyrics in the mix.
TIMES LEADER
Longtime
volunteers,
workers
‘a family’
By Gene Axton
gaxton@timesleader.com
These days it’s play
with my kids. My
10-month-old doesn’t
play a lot yet, but my 3-yearold, she’s my buddy. I know it
sounds corny, but driving my
kids home from day care, giving
them both a bath every night
because that’s our time to just
kind of chat and talk, they are
my everything. Beyond that I’m
a huge (New York) Mets fan.
My wife hates baseball season
because my mood is dictated by
whether they win or lose, and
they’re not having a great year
this year, so I’ve been grumpy
more than not.
WILKES-BARRE — Candy,
popcorn, water. Wilkes-Barre resident Margaret Weisgable knows
her F.M. Kirby Center concessions checklist by heart.
And she should — she has
worked at the venue since January 1987.
The Kirby Center has a contingent of employees and volunteers
who work behind its concessions
stands, between its aisles as
ushers, and at its doors as ticket
takers.
Carole Antolik,
who worked alongside Weisgable at a
recent event in the
venue’s W. Curtis
Montz 2016 Film
Series, has worked Weisgable
at the Kirby Center since it opened
in 1986.
“My favorite
job is popcorn
maker,” said Antolik, a resident of
Edwardsville. “I’ve
done concessions, Antolik
tickets, phone
calls — everything
down to maintenance.”
Ushering was Maureen Elick’s
Kirby Center calling when she
began her 28-year volunteer stint
in 1988. When Elick started, the
uniform consisted of a black jacket, black slacks, a maroon cummerbund and maroon bow tie.
Volunteers also had staff holiday
parties, which she remembers as
a highlight of her tenure at the
theater.
Gail Kistler was the Sylvester
to Elick’s Tweety — they went
as the pair to a Halloween party.
The friends went through nursing school together at Wyoming
Valley Hospital, worked in New
York City but moved back to the
area, and started volunteering at
the theater on the same day, on
July 7, 1988.
According to Elick, the Kirby
Center volunteers are a close-knit
group.
“I don’t know exactly how to
word it,” she said. “It’s something
that I like doing, something that’s
part of my life that has been for
many, many years. Something
that I’d miss if I wasn’t doing it.
“We’re one big family — the
people at the Kirby I’ve gotten to
meet throughout the years.”
Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on
Twitter @TLArts
Reach Gene Axton at 570-991-6121 or on
Twitter @TLArts
Q
A
What is your
favorite act you’ve
booked so far?
To this day, it’s still
Elvis Costello (in
2013) for multiple
reasons. One, I’m just a big fan.
I watched him sound check for
two hours. He signed (a promotional) guitar after that. An
hour later doors opened and he
played for 2 1/2 hours, so I got
to see him perform for about 4
1/2 hours that night.
Q
What is the one
dream act you’d
like to book that
you haven’t gotten a chance
to yet? Something that’s
feasible.
A
I think it’s feasible but
unlikely, but hands
down it’s Tom Waits.
Probably my favorite artist of
all time, and I’ve never had the
opportunity to see him live.
Q
A
What helps
you wind
down from work?
Pomp and circumstance also a part of Kirby history
By Mark Guydish
mguydish@timesleader.com
WILKES-BARRE — It
doesn’t qualify as one of the
“performing arts,” but for participants, it’s once-in-a-lifetime
theater.
The Kirby Center has spent
most of its open hours hosting
everything from “Oklahoma!”
to Beethoven, Bennett to barbershop, and from a fake, big
red dog to some very real cows.
Yet since 1987, the venue
also has hosted an American
ritual: graduation ceremonies.
On that list are 50 high school
events and three college commencements.
Along with the annual return
of the robins, every spring
morphs the Kirby into a posh
palace for hundreds transitioning from stay-at-home teens to
out-in-the-world adults.
“It seemed like more of an
occasion than if it was in the
gym,” Marcella Morgan said of
her son Robert’s graduation ceremony in 2012. The Mountain
Top clan came to the Wyoming
Valley for his graduation from
Holy Redeemer High School.
And going upscale in surroundings might subconsciously affect student behavior. Arline Mallis of Hanover
Township suggested that the
elegant decor of the Kirby has
encouraged teens to be more
formal.
“I liked it when they marched
in,” she remembered of her
son Michael’s graduation from
Bishop Hoban High School in
1989. “Nobody was throwing
their hats up into the air.”
The trappings certainly
left an impression on Cecilia
Galante — now a teacher at
Wyoming Seminary — when
she graduated from Bishop
Hoban in 1989.
“I remember being enamored by the beautiful lights
and all the red carpeting, and
by how enormous the place
seemed,” she said.
The fond recollections also
include the most recent graduation season.
“I grew up admiring the
beauty of the Kirby Center,”
said 2016 Holy Redeemer
salutatorian Alexis Davison.
“There’s so much history and
sense of community there.”
She recounted attending
classic concerts and a Beach
Boys performance at the Kirby
before she got her chance on
the stage to address classmates
and their families.
“It was an extravagant and
elegant place to end your high
school career and start your
adult life,” the Dallas resident
Members of
the Coughlin
High School
Class of 2012
begin their
graduation
ceremony
at the F.M.
Kirby Center.
Coughlin has
held nine
graduations at
the theater.
Times Leader File Photo
added.
Of the 50 high school commencements held at the Kirby,
Bishop Hoban held the most
— 20 — from 1987 through
2007. Bishop O’Reilly was
next with 16. In 2008, the
Diocese of Scranton combined
the two schools at the Hoban
site and renamed it Holy
Redeemer, which has held five
commencements.
Wilkes-Barre Area’s Coughlin High School held nine
graduations at the Kirby — the
first in 1988, the second in
2002, and the third in 2006.
Coughlin ceremonies have
been held annually at the theater since 2011.
The Kirby added college
commencements in 2014,
when the Commonwealth
Medical College held its
first of three graduations there.
While the setting is grand,
Mallis said Bishop Hoban’s
1989 ceremony was tight on
access.
“It was hard to get a seat,”
she said.
Mary Ruth Burke, whose
children graduated from Holy
Redeemer at the Kirby Center,
said that may be true sometimes, but the Kirby generally is bigger than most high
school auditoriums.
Burke graduated from Meyers High School in an auditorium highlighted with ample
stained glass, including a ceiling with the seals of 48 states
around the edges (the building predates the statehood of
Alaska and Hawaii).
While it was great, she said,
she suspects a venue such as
the Kirby would have been better seating-wise.
Burke said they probably
would have had to limit the
guests in many high school
auditoriums, including Holy
Redeemer’s. The Kirby Center’s spaciousness likely meant
“more family members could
attend,” she said.
Asked about the three graduation ceremonies she attended
for nieces and nephews leaving
Holy Redeemer, Chris Bedwick of Plains Township said,
“It was elegant.”
Yet when asked where her
commencement was held,
both Chris and her husband,
George, beamed as they said
together, “GAR!”
So was the Kirby Center
better than GAR Memorial
auditorium?
“Oh, no,” George blurted,
unabashed. “Everything GAR
was great!”
Like the others, Rachel Stilp
Young’s Bishop Hoban class of
1992 recalled the elegance, and
she voiced appreciation for air
conditioning — not a given in
many local, older schools.
But she did have one nit to
pick.
“I remember it was long, and
we wanted to get the heck out
of there,” the Hanover Township resident said with a laugh.
Reach Mark Guydish at 570-991-6112 or on
Twitter @TLMarkGuydish
TIMES LEADER
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
11
80771108
12
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
… And don’t forget the cow auction of ’87
WILKES-BARRE — A
deep, reverberating “moo”
isn’t a sound normally associated with downtown WilkesBarre.
So on Feb. 25, 1987, pedestrians on North Main Street
probably were surprised to
hear evidence of real, live
cows sheltered in the lower
level of the parking garage
at the Sheraton-Crossgates
Hotel, which now is King’s on
the Square.
But if those passers-by had
read the Times Leader, they
would have known the Pennsylvania Holstein Association
was preparing to march 60
cows across the stage at the
F.M. Kirby Center, showing
them off to hundreds of farmers who would have a chance
to bid on them at auction.
“I took the committee in
there, and they fell in love
with it,” Tunkhannock dairy-
Kirby
From page 1
“Today it has become an
iconic anchor to the downtown, to the community,
and to the businesses that
surround it. Today it stands
on its own as a destination
point,” van Genderen said,
adding that the theater hosts
an average of one event every
other day and draws 75,000
people to the downtown each
year.
Van Genderen said the
Kirby attracts people to “our
restaurants, our shops and our
businesses and is a key catalyst to the momentum you are
seeing downtown.”
The Kirby Center stands
out not only in the local business community, but in the
worldwide theater industry.
Last year, the venue ranked
114th on industry trade publication Pollstar’s list of the
Top 200 theaters in the world,
based on ticket sales. After six
months of this year, the Kirby
is 99th.
“That is an amazing accomplishment to a building that
was close to being torn down
30 years ago,” van Genderen
said.
Looking back, Genetti was
the perfect person for Boscov
to approach in the 1980s.
Genetti said he saw the last
movie ever shown at the
Paramount before it closed
— “Sinbad the Sailor” — in
1977. Genetti agreed to be a
donor and has served on the
Kirby board of directors, off
and on, for many years.
Genetti even remodeled
three of the suites at his hotel
on Market Street to accommodate headliners needing to
stay over after their appearances at the Kirby. One bridal
suite and two celebrity suites
were refurbished, and each
has a large-screen television,
hot tub, rain shower and kingsized bed.
The early days
What now is the F.M. Kirby
Arts began in 1938 as the
Comerford Theatre. In 1949,
new ownership renamed it the
Paramount Theater, and the
Comerford moved to another
location on Public Square.
Over those 78 years — the
past 30 as the Kirby Center —
the venue has been the cultural center for Luzerne County,
with numerous shows, concerts, political events, graduations, kids’ programs and
other events, including a cow
auction.
Major political figures have
used the Kirby for events,
including President George
W. Bush, Sen. John Kerry,
Sen. John McCain, Gen. Colin
Powell, former New York City
Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, and
Secretary of State Madeleine
Albright.
Genetti tells the story of
woman Leslie Rhoades said
at the time.
In preparation for the auction, the stage was coated in
layers of plastic, tar paper and
saw dust — with good reason, as it turned out.
During the first 10 minutes of the auction, shortly
after then-Mayor Thomas V.
McLaughlin led the first cow
across the plastic, the animal
left a calling card of sorts.
“No doubt many a performer could sympathize
with what was obviously and
visibly the result of openingnight jitters,” Times Leader
reporter Dawn Shurmaitis
wrote.
The cow auction, with sales
totaling $180,000, attracted
audience members whose
attire ranged from cowboy
boots and jeans to dresses
and suits.
On the Kirby schedule,
the event was sandwiched
between a talk by sex expert
Dr. Ruth Westheimer and a
concert by
singer Paul
Anka. A few
weeks later,
the Miss
Wilkes-Barre/
Scranton
Pageant came
to the Kirby,
showcasing
glamour,
glitter and
admiration
for female
beauty.
The cattle
fans, who
bid as much
as $15,000
per cow in
February
1987, likely
would
acknowledge their bovines
shared that last attribute.
At least auctioneer Horace
Backus seemed to, describing
a cow’s “great figure” along
with her “good cheese yield.”
how the Kirby almost
and unused for many
didn’t open on time
years.”
in 1986 because of an
Boscov said he immeoverlooked necessity:
diately knew something
After the building had
had to be done to
been purchased by the
reopen the theater.
Boscov-led team and
“We felt it could be a
Beekman
the renovation project
wonderful new center,
was nearly complete,
but more than that,
it was learned that an
we felt it could play a
emergency stair tower
very important part in
hadn’t been included in
bringing the downtown
the sale.
back to life.”
“We found out we
Boscov was right. He
didn’t have legal access
pointed to “so many
to the stair tower,” Gen- Burnside
wonderful things” that
etti said. “But that probhave happened there
lem was soon resolved.”
and how the Kirby
And so the lights
has brought so many
went on at the Kirby,
people back to the
and they remain on
downtown.
today, as strongly as
“Especially those
ever. Genetti said manpeople who had forgotagement of the facility Rodella
ten about the downhas always been toptown,” Boscov said.
notch.
“And the Paramount
“Now, more than
was a forgotten buildever,” he said. “We
ing.”
have more shows, more
Boscov said when
headliner shows, and
a group of concerned
the Kirby is ranked in
downtown business
the top 100 venues in
people went to see
Taylor
the world. I guess you
the Paramount, they
can say we are in the
noticed that “everything
Golden Age.”
that was wonderful had deteGenetti lays all the credit
riorated.” He said he knew the
for the Kirby’s launch on
project had to be completed
Boscov.
— and soon.
“There were a lot of people
Boscov said it wasn’t difwho were key to raising the
ficult to raise the money needmoney and getting the project ed to renovate the building.
done, but Mr. Boscov was the
“All the other businesses
driver,” Genetti said. “He was and people in Wilkes-Barre
the lightning rod.”
shared our vision of bringing
The names Kirby, Genetti
something special downand Boscov have been synony- town,” he said. “Everybody
mous with downtown Wilkeswanted to see this through. I
Barre for decades. The city’s
was proud to be involved.”
two colleges — King’s College
Boscov said the project
and Wilkes University —
didn’t happen just because of
serve as bookends for a city
him. He said a lot of people
on an upward path.
deserve credit, including Curt
But with Boscov’s departMontz, who was running
ment store, Genetti Hotel
the personnel department at
and Conference Center and
Boscov’s at the time.
the Kirby Center, the city has
Boscov said the Kirby, at
three anchors that provide
age 30, has a bright future.
some stability as Wilkes-Barre
“I think people like the
continues to make its way
downtown, and with the
back from a devastating flood
Kirby open, they feel safer and
in 1972 and a population drop there’s so much more to do,”
that resulted, decreasing the
he said. “There is lots of posicity’s number of residents
tive activity. We’re glad to see
from 58,856 in 1970 to an
what’s happening downtown.”
estimated 40,780 in 2015,
according to the U.S. Census
Kirby leaders speak out
Bureau.
Four Kirby officials —
“Without the Kirby Center,
Beekman; Anne Rodella,
the downtown would not be
director of sales and marketas resurgent as it is,” Genetti
ing; Scott Burnside, board
said. “Banks have merged,
chairman; and Drew Taylor,
merchants have left, but new
director of operations — sat
places have opened. The
around a table recently in the
future looks good.”
theater’s executive offices and
agreed, that at age 30, the
Kirby Center will forgo any
Boscov remains proud
outlandish celebration and
Al Boscov chuckled when
he talked about the early days put the focus on what they
say matters most — the comof raising money to renovate
munity.
the old Paramount Theater.
“This is not a celebration
But he said as soon as he
where we say, ‘Hey, look at
purchased his store in 1980,
us.’ It’s about us saying, ‘Hey,
he knew something had to be
look at you’ — the community
done with the old theater.
that has supported the Kirby
“We were very happy with
for 30 years,” Beekman said.
the response we got when
The Kirby is giving back
we bought the store,” Boscov
through its programming,
said. “But we were saddened
offering more shows and more
when we saw the Paramount
diverse events.
just sitting there empty, dark
TIMES LEADER
Longtime
patron: ‘Like
home to me’
By Alyssa Mursch
For the Times Leader
This page shows a newspaper
account of the cow auction at the
Kirby Center in February 1987.
“The community has supported the Kirby from the
beginning,” Beekman said.
“The people are responsible
for this building coming back,
and they have sustained it for
30 years.”
Burnside said the Kirby
operates on an annual budget
of approximately $1.3 million
— about $600,000 coming
from fundraising, and the
other $700,000 is programdriven: ticket sales, concessions, merchandise sales and
theater rentals. He said fundraising is crucial every year
and so far, the community has
responded in a big way.
Taylor said the Kirby
board trusts its management,
prompting Burnside to note
that Beekman’s “batting average is higher than most majorleaguers.”
Burnside said the Kirby
did what it had to do to stay
ahead of the competition in
today’s market: a new management team was put in place at
the end of 2013, and the board
of directors was reconstructed
to make it more diverse in
areas such as money management, arts and entertainment
expertise and community
representation. Burnside also
said the Kirby recognized the
need to offer more programs
to increase traffic, and it capitalized on the unique elegance
the venue offers.
“We filled all the gaps,”
Burnside said. “We created a
place that can’t be duplicated
anywhere.”
Beekman said he always
wants to offer programming
that the community wants
and will support. He said he
learns as much from an event
that doesn’t do well as he does
from a sold-out show.
In 1986, the Kirby Center
reportedly lost more than
$50,000, according to the
Times Leader archives. For
much of its first decade, the
center’s existence was considered iffy, jeopardized by
funding cuts, administrative
miscues and fickle audiences.
Beekman said what began
in 1986 has evolved into a
facility that is stronger than
ever.
“Financially speaking, the
past few seasons have been
among the most successful in
our 30 years as a performingarts enter,” he said. “Thanks
in large part to our generous
community, we feel more
financially stable than ever
before. More importantly, we
feel financially sustainable as
we now focus on the next 30
years.”
Beekman said the Kirby
still strives to provide the
best possible options for the
public.
“The key is we are still here,
and we are open more nights
every year,” he said. “We are
here for the community and,
more importantly, we are here
because of the community.”
Reach Bill O’Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on
Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.
WILKES-BARRE — Since
the Kirby Center opened 30
years ago, familiar faces have
shadowed the venue’s doorways, making a tradition out
of the shows and concerts that
fill the halls and bounce off the
high, meticulously painted ceilings.
Wilkes-Barre resident Jean
Marie Kile is one of those
faces.
For Kile, 69, the Kirby is
more than just actors reciting
scripts and singers belting
lyrics. It’s more than entertainment, more than a hobby.
“It’s like home to me,” Kile
said.
From Broadway
shows to concerts
featuring Johnny
Cash/June Carter
and Wayne Newton — the latter
of which Kile
Kile
sat in the pit for
— Kile has seen
most of it.
Some shows she also saw
in larger theaters, such as the
Broadway musical “Cats,”
which she attended at the
Kirby Center and in a theater
in California. She said she was
impressed that those shows
were equally outstanding.
Kile’s long-lasting love for
the Kirby began with her first
show there. It was the beginning of her career at the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of
Business and Industry 30 years
ago, and she was handling the
registration for an annual event
there. She remembers rushing
to the Kirby with a co-worker
from Genetti’s on Market
Street to get to the show on
time. It was singer Tom Jones,
and Kile and her friend loved it
— enough to come back every
year since.
Kile estimated she has been
to at least 150 shows at the
Kirby. She usually attends with
her husband, but when he isn’t
interested in the show, her
guest often is her daughter,
Jean Marie, 44. Mom said she
pays a small membership fee so
that she can buy tickets before
the general public and can snag
her usual seat in Row G.
She remembered once being
so close to the stage during an
ice skating show that she got
damp when the skaters raced
by — but she didn’t mind. She
also had an opportunity to
sing a bit of “Soldier Boy” by
The Shirelles when they came
into the audience. She laughed
at the memories, saying she
“never had a bad time” at the
Kirby.
The dedicated fan credits
the theater’s 30 years of success to its kind and welcoming
attitude, even referring to some
in the box office by their first
names.
“They make you feel like
you belong there,” Kile said.
“Everyone’s friendly.”
“She’s a longtime member
of the theater and a longtime
concert-goer, said Tina Yurko,
the Kirby’s box-office manager.
“I’ve worked with her personally many times.”
Kile’s experience portrays
the diverse schedule the Kirby
is known for. There have been
shows for all ages, from rap
artists to plays to classic rock
and even “Sesame Street Live.”
Kile said she plans to continue
her tradition, as she already has
purchased tickets for five events
during the 2016-17 season.
“I just love the shows,” she
said. “I look forward to see
what comes each year.”
THE KIRBY AT 30
Section editor: Tim Farkas
Page design: Jayla Wallingford,
Dennis Raymo
Writers: Gene Axton, Mary
Therese Biebel, Mark Guydish,
Mike Mattei, Alyssa Mursch,
Jerry Lynott, Bill O’Boyle
Photographers: Aimee Dilger,
Pete Wilcox, Sean McKeag
Copy editors: Tim Farkas,
Dennis Raymo
TIMES LEADER
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
13
30 days, 30 questions: How’d you do?
By Times Leader Staff
Answer: 372
Question 6: Which enterThe F.M. Kirby Center for
tainer appeared to be severed
the Performing Arts turns 30
at the torso by a fiery laser
this year, and to commemorate beam during a 1997 show at
the occasion, the Times Leader the Kirby Center?
challenged readers to some
Answer: Magician David
trivia. For the past 30 days,
Copperfield
questions appeared in the Life
Question 7: Since the
section and in the Guide.
beginning of the Kirby Center,
Compare your answers with
which musical organization has
the ones below and
had a constant onsee how well you
stage presence?
know the Kirby.
Answer: The
(Some of the original
Northeastern Pennquestions have been
sylvania Philharedited for brevity.)
monic
Question 1: What
Question 8:
was so special about
The Kirby Center
the performance on
continues to pay
Sept. 19, 1986?
tribute to its history
Answer: It was
This cult classic is by hosting several
the first show held
always an answer to different film series
at the theater newly at least one movie- each year. What is
house trivia question, the only movie that
renamed the F.M.
Kirby Center for the right?
gets screened at midPerforming Arts.
night?
Question 2: Which prima
Answer: “The Rocky Horror
ballerina opened her world
Picture Show”
tour with a performance at the
Question 9: The chandelier
Kirby Center in September
inside the Kirby Center has a
1986?
sister chandelier in what iconic
Answer: Cynthia Gregory
New York City building?
Question 3: What was origiAnswer: The Empire State
nally decided to be the name of Building
the performing-arts center in
Question 10: In 1992, four
Wilkes-Barre?
organizations contributed a
Answer: The Paramount
total of $200,000 to the capital
Civic Centre. The name
campaign of the F.M. Kirby
change to F.M. Kirby Center
for the Performing Arts didn’t
Arts. The “Keep the Magic
occur until after the Kirby
of the Kirby” campaign had a
Foundation made a significant
goal of $3 million. Name two
monetary donation to provide
of the four organizations that
the final funds needed to comcontributed $50,000 to the
plete the renovations at the
cause. (Extra points if you can
Paramount.
name all four!)
Question 4: For its fifth
Answer: The Times Leader,
anniversary, what iconic singer Northeastern Bank, United
did the Kirby Center bring to
Penn Bank, and Franklin First
perform?
Federal
Answer: Ray Charles on Oct.
Question 11: What is the
13, 1991.
design style of the Kirby CenQuestion 5: The Kirby Cen- ter building, both interior and
ter is a non-profit business.
exterior?
The small staff is bolstered by
Answer: Art deco
community support and volQuestion 12: Which creaunteers. How many volunteers tures were sold to the highest
have served at the Kirby since
bidder during a 1987 auction
1986?
at the Kirby Center?
Answer: Holstein calves and
heifers
Question 13: How many
lobbies does the F.M. Kirby
Center have?
Answer: Four: box office,
main, mezzanine, lower
Question 14: Which downtown department store owner
was instrumental in saving the
old Paramount and opening
the F.M. Kirby Center?
Answer: Albert Boscov
Question 15: The Dec. 12,
1990, showing of “The Nutcracker” offered more than a
good ballet. Executive Director
John Loesser held a drawing
during the performance and
selected Ross Howey’s number.
What honor was bestowed on
Howey, earning him an allexpenses-paid trip for two to
Atlantic City, N.J.?
Answer: Howey was selected
as the Kirby Center’s 1 millionth patron.
Question 16: What was the
largest change made to the
Kirby Center when it went
from being a movie theater to
a performing-arts center?
Answer: A two-story addition was put in over the stage
for fly space.
Question 17: Which summer theater youth program
performs every year in August?
Answer: Kirby Kidz
Question 18: In 1978, the
F.M. Kirby Center was added
to the National Register of
Historic Places. What acronym
was associated with this effort?
Answer: STOP (Save The
Old Paramount)
years has the Kirby Center’s
longest volunteer been serving
at the venue, and what is the
volunteer’s name?
Answer: Gail Kistler, 28
years
audience seats are in the Kirby
Center?
Answer: 1,808 without pit
seating; 1,832 with pit seating.
Question 21: What do the
F and the M stand for in F.M.
Kirby Center?
Answer: Fred Morgan
Question 22: During a
2013 appearance with the
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Philharmonic, Grammy Awardwinning singer Steve Tyrell
reprised a song he performed
for the 1991 movie “Father of
the Bride.” What is the name
of that song, which was heard
at many wedding receptions
after that movie was made?
Answer: “The Way You Look
Tonight”
Question 23: What is the
name of the mule located in
the box-office lobby of the F.M.
Kirby Center?
Answer: Cecil B. Mule, the
venue’s unofficial mascot
Question 24: Which famous
children’s television personality appeared in person at the
Kirby Center during its inaugural year?
Answer: Shari Lewis, along
with her puppet pal Lamb
Chop
Question 25: Which
14-year-old singing sensation
opened a 1996 concert at the
Kirby with the song “Blue
Moon of Kentucky?”
Answer: LeAnn Rimes
Question 26: The glamorous chandelier is the focal
point in the Kirby Center’s
grand rotunda. About how
long did the renovations and
improvements for the rotunda
take?
Answer: Less than 10
months
Question 27: Which progressive, alternative rock band
performed a 3D show at the
Kirby Center on Oct. 16, 2012?
Answer: Primus played an
all-3D show on that date.
Question 28: The Badlees
performed on stage at the
Kirby Center on Feb. 22, 1997.
Which two local bands opened
for them?
Answer: Mere Mortals and
Clove.
Question 29: In its first five
years, the Kirby Center had
legends Bob Hope and Wayne
So how did you do? Did you
get all of the questions right?
If you did, you know your Kirby
Center.
0-5 questions correct:
Novice
You know we have a great
performing-arts center in
Wilkes-Barre, but read this
section and you’ll be in better
shape next time.
Dabbler in the Arts
OK. You know a little about
the Kirby Center. You might
have been to a show or two.
But know that the venue has a
wide array of offerings.
Arts Lover
Not only do you know about
the arts and our community’s
performing-arts center, you
know about its history and
maybe even the lesser-known
details of what makes it work.
Congratulations — you’re a
true supporter of the arts.
Shining Star
Give yourself a round of
applause. As a matter of
fact, get on the Kirby stage
for the full-house round of
applause you deserve. The
value of the Kirby Center
and all its performances
isn’t lost on you. You have
great appreciation for your
community and for the
different art forms it supports.
Newton perform as headliners,
among many others. Which
year did each performer take
the stage? Which of them performed twice during those five
years?
Answer: Bob Hope performed on June 12, 1991, and
Wayne Newton starred on
Feb. 14, 1988, and on Aug.
24, 1989, making him the performer who headlined twice in
the first five years.
Question 30: Which artist
performed with her band at the
Kirby Center on April 8, 1989,
and returned in 2015 to play
with actor and banjo player
Steve Martin and the Steep
Canyon Rangers?
Answer: Edie Brickell
14
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
OCTOBER 2016
ONSTAGE AT
SUN
MON
2
TUE
WED
3
4
THU
Kirby Center Box Office, 71 Public Square, or by calling 570-826-1100
Ticketmaster locations (locally at Boscov’s or Gallery of Sound)
Online at Ticketmaster.com or by calling 800-745-3000
9
Second
City: Free
Speech
SEPTEMBER 2016
SUN
MON
TUE
11
WED
12
THU
13
DeadPhish Orchestra - 22nd
14
FRI
10
11
15
17
16
All in Time
17
12
20
21
Tale of
T
Tales
22
23
Dead
The
Phish
Toasters
1 & 7:30 p.m. Orchestra
8 p.m.
13
26
27
28
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
24
29
30
Buddy
Guy
8 p.m.
19
20
23
Rocky
Horror
Picture
Show
24
30
Steve
Miller
Band
31
25
Alan
Doyle
26
7:30 p.m.
27
Reckless
Kelly
28
Patti
LaBelle
8 p.m.
8 p.m.
Splatterday II
Costume Parade
3:15 p.m.
“Hotel Transylvania” 3:30 p.m.
“The Birds”
6 p.m.
“Friday the 13th”
9 p.m.
“Rocky Horror”
Midnight
THU
1
6
7
FRI
2
8
SAT
3
9
(22nd)
(22nd)
(22nd)
(23rd)
DECEMBER 2016
Buddy Guy - 30th
WED
29
HALLOWEEN FILM SERIES*
Patti LaBelle - 28th
TUE
21
22
Foreigner Halloween
Film Series
8 p.m.
3:30, 6, 9 p.m.
& Midnight *
8 p.m.
MON
15
Midnight *
7 p.m.
NOVEMBER 2016
8
Rodney
Carrington - 6th
Boz
Scaggs
John
Mellencamp - 14th
2 p.m.
8 p.m.
(movie)
SUN
8 p.m.
14
John
Mellencamp
18
(concert)
Brian Regan - 25th
25
Brian
Regan
8 p.m.
(movie)
19
SAT
7:30 p.m.
SAT
The Badlees
18
FRI
5
6
7
Theresa Rodney
Dream
Caputo Carrington Theater
7:30 p.m.
TICKETS
TIMES LEADER
4
10
SUN
MON
5
Stand Bac
and The
Idol Kings
4
Melissa
Etheridge’s
HolidayTrio
8 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
11
12
TUE
WED
5
11
THU
6
12
FRI
7
13
SAT
8
9
The
Mavericks
10
Holiday
Doo Wop
8 p.m.
7 p.m.
14
A
Christmas
Carol
Henry
Rollins
8 p.m.
Octonauts Live! - 16th
13
14
7 p.m.
15
16
U.S. Army
Field Band Octonauts
Live!
& Soldiers’
6 p.m.
Chorus
17
18
The Mavericks - 8th
19
4th
Jake
Shimabukuro
7:30 p.m.
JANUARY 2017
7 p.m.
SUN
20
21
22
23
27
28
29
30
24
25
MON
26
Jake Shimabukuro - 18th
TUE
WED
1
2
3
8
Momma
Mia!
9
10
THU
FRI
4
SAT
5
6
7
12
13
14
8 p.m.
FEBRUARY 2017
SUN
MON
MARCH 2017
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
1
5
6
Elvis Lives - 1st
2
God Save
the Queen
7:30 p.m.
8 p.m.
7
8
9
I Have
A Dream
13
14
15
19
29
21
22
MON
TUE
WED
THU
4
1
FRI
2
10
I Go On
Singing
6
7
8
9
10
11
18
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
24
Odd
Squad
Live!
25
Red Hot
Chilli
Pipers
(Paul Roberson)
8 p.m.
Garrison
Keillor
7:30 p.m.
Stomp
Stomp
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
7:30 p.m.
23
24
25
19
20
21
22
23
God Save the Queen - 3rd
6:30 p.m.
27
28
26
Annie - 23rd
28
Information & Venue Policies
Box office is open Tuesdays
through Fridays from 10 a.m. to
5 p.m.; day of show, noon until 30
minutes past showtime.

Box-office phone: 570-826-1100
 Website: www.kirbycenter.org

Kirby Center office: 570-823-4599
 Prohibited items: Weapons;
alcohol; any outside food or
beverages; backpacks, large bags,
packages; professional cameras
(with removable lenses); video or
recording devices.
 Notes: All ticket sales are final; no
refunds … A facility fee is charged,
and when applicable, a convenience
fee is added to the price of each
ticket. … All persons and/or bags
will be subject to a security search
in the venue. Any prohibited items,
or any item deemed dangerous or
inappropriate, will be confiscated.
29
42nd
Street
TUE
WED
THU
FRI
SAT
7 p.m.
28
The
Hit Men
8 p.m.
30
Feet Don’t
Fail Me
Now!
Bindlestiff Family Cirkus - 1st
29
Note: Schedule subject to change
30
8 p.m.
31
7:30 p.m.
COLOR KEY

1
Bindlestiff
Family
Cirkus
7:30 p.m.
27
42nd Street - 29th
APRIL 2017
MON
4
5
Annie
SUN
3
11
7:30 p.m.
26
SAT
Stomp - 15th & 16th
16
17
Cirque Last of the
Zuma
Red Hot
Zuma
Lovers
7:30 p.m.
SUN
3
Elvis
Lives
10 a.m.
12
SAT
WELLS FARGO CONCERT & COMEDY SERIES
Convenient
Food Mart
LIVE FROM THE CHANDELIER LOBBY
SIGNATURE SERIES
BROADWAY SERIES
PNC CELEBRITY SERIES
FAMILY SERIES
LOBBY FOR THE ARTS SERIES
YOUNG PEOPLE’S THEATER SERIES
All shows 10 a.m.
(events not listed in calendar)
Thursday, Jan. 12:
Thursday, Feb. 9:
Monday, Feb. 13:
Friday, April 7:
Tuesday, May 16:
Doktor Kaboom Live Wire!
I Have a Dream
Bill Bagg’s Science of Magic
Story Pirates
Elephant and Piggies
TIMES LEADER
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
15
For our customers,
community and
environment.
80771895
SEPTEMBER 18, 2016
TIMES LEADER
80766301
16

Sparkling onstage in Wilkes-Barre

Transcription

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