News

All the world’s a stage

MARQUETTE -- The definition of an auditorium is the space set apart for the audience in a theater, school, or other public building. Marquette has had several of these spaces in its history.

Other than their names, Adam's Hall and Preston's Hall, little can be found discussing them. Nestor's Hall was located on Washington Street and Cole's Hall was on South Front Street.

One of Marquette's early auditoriums, Mather's Hall, was a part of the First National Savings Bank constructed in 1872-73 by the Superior Building Company on Front and Spring Streets.

The bank operated on the first floor, there were offices on the second floor and the "great Mather's Hall was on the third floor" which "was the scene of entertainment and amusements, balls, banquets, amateur and professional theatricals, and political meetings" according to the Aug. 12, 1964 edition of the Mining Journal.

The Aug. 11, 1883 edition of The Mining Journal had a piece about the remodeling of Mather's Hall: "The room had been painted and papered in a very artistic manner, the walls being hung with paper of a rich material in a neutral tinge, with blue dado and frieze...the proscenium arch is finished in dark maroon velvet paper, with half round gilt panels."

Mather's Hall speakers included visionaries who influenced our culture like suffragettes Victoria C. Woodhull and Susan B. Anthony, social reformers Robert Dale Owen and Henry Ward Beecher, and soldier and diplomat General George W. Morgan. Although the building was constructed from sandstone, it burned in 1885. It was rebuilt without a third floor.

With the demise of Mather's Hall, the Casino Rink and Theatre on the northeast corner of Front and Main Streets became a popular venue. Owners George Burtis and W.B. Cross envisioned a modern skating rink and public gathering space.

The space was to be 104 feet by 84 feet with two floors and a basement. The siding and the roof were made of corrugated iron even though Burtis owned a lumber mill. Mr. Burtis and Mr. Cross explained that according to Webster's Dictionary, a casino was a place for social meetings and public amusements.

Possibly for economic reasons, the owners soon converted the basement into a livery stable, yet continued to use the upper floor for public amusements. Fresh air was a problem with the stable beneath the stage and the problem became evident during one play.

At the end of Act 5 of Shakespeare's tragedy "Richard III," King Richard has been unhorsed and is fighting for his life on foot. He cries, "A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse!" A man in the audience answered Richard's plea saying, "There are lots of them in the stable downstairs: take your choice!"

James Russell, the editor of The Mining Journal, argued in the June 22, 1889 edition for a new Opera House claiming "the attendance...proves that the Marquette public will liberally patronize a good attraction" and "that Marquette was the only town in the Upper Peninsula which makes a claim to eloquence, where the theatrical and livery businesses are intimately united that the odor of one prevents the enjoyment of the other."

The Marquette Opera House Company filed articles of incorporation and the building began in 1890 on the site of the Masonic Hall on Washington Street. Many famous people crossed the Opera House stage until it was lost during the fire of 1938. Marquette has had many such venues come and go since then.

The Marquette Regional History Center is will become the auditorium for performances of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." This a collaborative fundraiser for the Marquette Regional History Center and Upper Peninsula Shakespeare Festival. "Hamlet" will take place thrust-style with audiences on risers looking down upon the action in true Globe Theatre fashion.

The production will feature local professionals and classically trained actors from around the country. To quote Hamlet:

"To be or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer

The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,

Or to take arms against a sea of troubles,

And by opposing end them?"

Take arms against your sea of troubles and buy a ticket to the performance...they are going fast!