New troupe bets on bringing live theatrer back to Arctic

Joe Kernan
Posted 3/26/15

This year, the DayDream Theatre decided to leave the cozy basement of the Bell Street Chapel in Providence for a store in West Warwick, the audacity of the move did not keep Lenny Schwartz and his …

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New troupe bets on bringing live theatrer back to Arctic

Posted

This year, the DayDream Theatre decided to leave the cozy basement of the Bell Street Chapel in Providence for a store in West Warwick, the audacity of the move did not keep Lenny Schwartz and his company of theatre volunteers from approaching the move with enthusiasm.

“We knew that the revitalization of West Warwick would have to include the arts and the people behind that effort encouraged us,” said Lloyd Felix, a realtor and one of the principals of the newly opened Arctic Playhouse at 117 Washington St.

“We know that any town needs the arts and our partner Jim Belanger grew up around here. His mother still lives around here and he was up to date about what was happening in the town.”

What made the DayDream Theatre different from other community theatre groups was artistic director Lenny Schwartz’s insistence in putting on original works and having his volunteers audition for their roles. What would seem unlikely in the small world of community theatre, his approach works and his unpaid actors consistently bring as much effort and commitment to DayDream productions as most other amateur companies bring to the tried and true rehashes of Neil Simon and other “safe” playwrights they tend to produce.

DayDream/Arctic Playhouse is more likely to mount a play about the Marx Brothers or the creator of the Batman legend.

When asked whether The Brothers Marx was about Groucho’s family or Karl’s, Felix said, “All of them.”

Producer David Viera said they are very aware that producing strictly original material is risky. Amateur theatre companies have a reputation of drawing in only a few more people than family and friends for productions of the tried and true hit. It is a leap of faith to hope to draw serious playgoers to original works.

“We all believe that Lenny has the talent to make this move work,” said Viera. “We have been encouraged so far.”

The fact that Lenny Schwartz and DayDream have survived as long as they have in Providence is a testament to Schwartz’s knack for creating good stories and telling them in a professional manner.

“Each year, we go to New York to produce original work, not just for the experience but to keep in touch with things that are happening outside of our own little world,” said Schwartz.

Next month, The Arctic Playhouse will be presenting Co-Creator: The Man Behind the Bat.

“It’s the story of Bill Finger, the uncredited creator of Batman,” said Felix. “Bob Kane got all the credit for the comic book hero but Bill Finger was the guy who gave Batman the back story and the mythology. Unfortunately, Bill Finger died alone and broke. Lenny is giving him the recognition he doesn’t usually get. We plan to have his granddaughter here for the opening.”

The fact that West Warwick has been in economic decline for most of the last few decades is both a blessing and a curse for the Arctic Playhouse. While it made the property affordable for a non-profit theatre company, the move effectively links the success of the theater to the success of the revitalization efforts. But the Playhouse has garnered some influential supporters that are betting that they will succeed.

“The Cardi brothers have been supporting us,” said Felix. “Arpin Van Lines, John Clark Real Estate and others think we and West Warwick have a chance to succeed here.”

Having a theatre company in West Warwick has been on the wish list of local theatergoers for sometime. Theatre-goers and their hopes took a beating back in 1996, when all talk of buying and refurbishing the old Odeon Theatre on Roberts Street went up in smoke after arsonists set the building on fire. Prior to the fire, the Odeon had been variously used for storage for several local businesses, a far cry from the hopes of Father Joseph Bourgeois, the French-Canadian pastor of St. John The Baptist Church around the turn of the 20ths Century. With independent means, Bourgeois built a rectory that was grand enough to annoy the Bishop of Providence who was settled in less elegant quarters. He was also a well-traveled and cultured man and once hired an organist away from the Le Mans Cathedral in France to play for St. John the Baptist. Bourgeois believed the French-Canadian mill workers who flocked to the Pawtuxet Valley to work in the mills should have an outlet for their Francophone culture. He bought the old Cadets Hall and had it converted to a small but workable playhouse that featured French-speaking Vaudeville and drama. That was to complement the English-speaking shows at the Thornton at Riverpoint and the Gem and the Palace Theatres that were given over to the movies early on.

The Odeon Theatre, created in 1909, was to be a showcase of French culture, a small performing arts center as well as a concert and lecture hall. It was modeled after the famous Odeon Theatre and opera house of Paris. After the fire in 1996, West Warwick old-timers recalled the better days of the Odeon.

“It had a beautiful stage,” according to local historian Richard Hughes as quoted in the Providence Journal. “The acoustics were so good you actually didn’t need microphones. You felt like you were in a real theatre, and you were.”

While some parishioners remembered Father Bourgeois as a strict priest, others cited rumors that he was a bit too worldly and were scandalized when he drove around town with his housekeeper. But most live theatre was gone from West Warwick by the time Father Bourgeois died in 1928.

Local collectors have posters and advertisements for the Odeon and in the book by Mathias P. Harpin, Trumpets of Jericho (1961), about the Pawtuxet Valley, Harpin wrote:

“Father Bourgeois brought [Sarah] Bernhardt to Jericho. Her agent came first to see if the theater was worthy of the great star’s talents. Father Bourgeois escorted her through the theater.

‘Marvelous Marvelous! Simply marvelous!’ exclaimed the woman who had the world at her feet in the roles of Camille, La Tosca…"

It was also used to show movies and there were sporadic advertisements for films in the local newspaper. Eventually, attendance didn’t warrant maintaining the property as a theatre ultimately became a furniture store, showroom and warehouse for several local businesses before the fire.

Ironically, a strip club near the building now housing the Arctic Playhouse called itself “The Playhouse” before it, too, was leveled by fire.

“It was a scary thing but we had to take a leap and build the Arctic Playhouse,” said Schwartz. “We’ve been here for the last four months and we are ready to bring original theatre to this town.”

Perhaps Schwartz could turn to the story of Father Joseph Bourgeois and his efforts to preserve the Gallic nature of the people of Arctic as an original play. The history of West Warwick is begging to be told.

For more information about the Arctic Playhouse, 117 Washington St. in West Warwick, or for tickets to upcoming shows, visit www.thearcticplayhouse.com.

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