PrintLOVELAND – It could be written as a three-act play.
Act I: Flames leap skyward from the community theater in the small town’s historic downtown. The accidental fire leaves the recently restored building in ruins.
Act II: The crestfallen theater group rallies quickly and completes its string of scheduled performances of a musical at a high school theater. With encouragement from the town officials and many others, the group starts a fund-raising effort to rebuild the theater.
Act III of this real-life drama has yet to be written.
Since the Oct. 20 fire at the Loveland Stage Company’s theater at 111 S. Second St., donations and good wishes have poured in.
• Photos: Loveland Stage Co. cleans up after the fire
In only a month, donors have sent $15,000 to the Loveland Stage Company Fire Fund at Lebanon Citizens National Bank in Loveland.
The theater group will need to raise $400,000 to rebuild.
“Let’s face it, we need some big bucks,” said Pat Furterer, president of the 29-year-old theater group.
But she values the notes of encouragement people often send with their checks as much as the checks themselves.
“You can’t believe the wonderful notes and the good wishes for us,” Furterer said. “The outpouring is just fabulous. It’s nice to know we have made a positive impact on the community.”
Bob and Cindy Kessler, who operate a stained-glass studio in Loveland, had donated two stained-glass windows that were installed in the front façade of the theater just weeks before the fire. The Kesslers have agreed to replace the two windows, valued at $6,000, for free, Furterer said.
Members of the theater company have been cleaning out the rubble-strewn building with no roof. They filled one Dumpster and are working on their second one.
The company began making plans to rebuild as the city determined the building was structurally sound. Architect Dave Welsh, who has been a member of the company for 26 years, has developed sketches for restoring the building exactly as it was.
“Everybody is very enthused about it,” Furterer said. “Everybody’s pulling together. The city’s behind us 100 percent.”
The theater has been a staple of Loveland’s downtown life since the Loveland-Symmes Firefighter’s Association donated the building to the Loveland Stage Company 10 years ago. The company’s members have put in countless volunteer hours over the years making continual improvements in the building, a former movie theater constructed in 1939.
While standing in the building on Thursday morning, Furterer and Welsh struggled with their emotions as they talked about the 10 years of work they had put into the building.
“It was my baby,” said Furterer, wiping away tears. “It’s hard for me to be in here.”
The fire started early Monday evening when a temporary light clipped onto the back of a chair on the second floor fell onto flammable costumes. The company’s members are grateful that no one was injured in the fire.
“We haven’t lost anything we can’t put back,” Welsh said. “It’ll just take time and money.”
As a precaution, two of the theater’s walls have been shored up to prevent them from collapsing in high winds. Work has resumed on the addition to the building that will provide more storage space for costumes and props.
The weekend after the fire, the company held its last three scheduled performances of the musical, “The Pajama Game,” at Loveland High School. Its Dec. 20 performances of “Jingle Bells Rock” for Christmas in Loveland will take place at City Hall, 120 W. Loveland Ave., just around the corner from the theater.
Some of the community theater groups in the region have offered assistance to the Loveland Stage Company. A few have donated money to the fire fund and plan to hold benefits for the company.
The Association for Community Theaters will have an open house benefit for the company from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Dec. 14 at the Madisonville Arts Center, 5021 Whetsel Ave. It will be a Community Theater Holiday Open House, featuring a variety of performances.
The fire has forced the Loveland Stage Company to postpone its spring performance of “Miss Saigon,” to next fall. No other Ohio community theater group has staged that musical.
The group’s popular children’s summer workshops will be held next year at a different location.
The company’s members hope to celebrate the grand opening of its restored theater next fall with the debut of “Miss Saigon.”
That would give Act III of this real-life drama a very happy ending.
