Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-07-24
Marshalltown Playhouse Remod.
eled and Beautifed to Extent
OF $4,000.
Would Not Be Recognized as the
Old House, So Numerous Are
the Alterations.
Lighting an Especial Feature
Season Opens Aug. Is Some
OF the Attractions.

:
looking back over the summer, TO real
ize that the theatrical season is again
about to open, such is the case. Th
beginning of the season at the Odeon l
less than a month away, Manager BUS
by having selected Monday, Aug. is. q
the day when he will throw open tn
big doors of the playhouse for the sea
son of 1923.
The Odeon will not be recognized %.
| the patrons of the house rs the SANE
theater in which they have visited IL
wears past. 1t will be a new houS'
i thruout, and. without eNaggeratlon, on
!of the prettiest theaters in the country
| Eusby Bros. came to MarShalltown en-
tire strangers. and after leasing tn
playhouse for one season purchased 1
/ outright. They now consider themSelve:
/ permanent fixtures of the city and Wltt
that idea are determined to give Mar
shalltown the best to be had, both II
| accommodations and attractions. Ihs
Messrs. Busby have expended S4,ooo IL
| improvements in the building, all OF
which have been put into the interior
The work is now practically complete
end the transformation is something
| remarkable as we'll as beautiful.
| The predominating color of the thea
| ter now is empire red, a dark rich shade
| that is pleasing to the eye and produces
| warmth and attractiveness gained only
| by that color. The other colors used are
1 r,lI
| ish red. The effect is beautiful, and viii
be especially so under the glare OF the
hundreds of incandescent lights that
have been placed thruout the entire
| building.
| The entrance to the lobby is green
with a lighter shade on the ceiling and
| gradually worked to darker color
| toward the bottom. The ladies' recep-
ton room will be dark red. Drapelies to
correspond are placed in either place
producing a pleasing effect that is in
vitins and homelke. The main en-
|! trance doors have been cut down In
| size and swing both ways an improve
naent over the old system. and the main
entrance, in all but exceptionally colo
| weather. will be from the front instead
| of the side, as last year. The inner
doors have also been cut down from the
| top, so as to avoid letting in so much
| cold air during the winter season.
| The first glance toward the front part
! of the house showing the view OF the
stage, gives the effect of red and green.
long panels of those colors extending
from ceiling to floor. The sounding
board above the stage, is buff in color,
embellished with multi-colored free
hand decorations. The boxes, on either
side are of old ivory. with trimmings
| of gold, with the back walls in green.
The woodwork about the stage is
painted in reddish brown, harmonizing
nicely with the interior colors. The
walls are of red, and the ceiling the
same, decorated in gold and green.
The lighting of the house is the
principal Improvement from theatre
L cal point of view. All lights will be
of electricity, with the old gas gets
to be used only in cases of emergency.
| This modernizes the theater as can
nothing else, as 1t allows effects to be
produced in a scenic way that can not
| be attempted with gas. Forty one
| lights mount the proscenium, larger
number of ineandescents than the gas
| gets of the entire house on the old syS-
TEN. Two larger lights are above and
below each of the boxes. Underneath
the balcony railing are thirty seven
more, while twenty constitute clusters
of ten each to light the gallery. The
stairways are brilliantly lighted, and
| in the back part of the house are clus-
tiers on the under ceiling that will
| furnish all the light needed. The lob
tbies are lighted with electricity, as is
also the stage, including all the border
/ lights.
Another great Improvement is in the
stage itself which has been moderniZed
| in many ways. Every foot of scenery
! is either new in its entirety or repaint-
ed and sized SO as to produce a pretty
effect. The greater part of it is new.
but the older. and standard pieces,
needed in every theater, have been re-
tanned after being gone over and
! painted. The side grooves. in fasten-
| ing the wings. are all done away With
and hereafter all will be what is known
as lash scenery, each piece containing
facilities for being dashed with the
corresponding piece of the set. This
gives more room on the stage and al
| lows the stage manager to produce
prettier effects, especially in making
round settings where before all corners
We're at right angles There will be
no more running in scenery from the
side, as. everything is made in drops.
Some excellent work has been done
| by the scenic artist, whose work is all
completed. The new tab is a beautiful
| piece of work. largely in red, to cor
respond with she predominating colon
of the interior. Red and green, will
gold and lighter shades, make up the
two pieces that form the grand drapery
and those colors enter largely also in
the tormentos. Manager Busby thinks
THAT he will have by far the prettiest
theater in the state, and is of the
opinion that there are none in the
country, of Il similar size, that will
surpasS it in beauty
Mr.. BuSby has the best attractions
booked for the coming season that the
house has ever had, and altho the
bookings are as yet incomplete there
are more high class ones already en-
gagged than at any time this early in
the season. The house will be opened
by Elery's Royal Italian band, of sixty
five pieces, an organization that ranks
among the best in the business. Iowa
had an opportunity of hearing the band
last season, two engagements, at Des
Moines and Dubuque, having been
played last winter as the band was en-
route west. Among the other first-class
attractions already booked are George
AIDES comic opera, The Sultan OF SUI