A Grand Birthday!

It's no secret that I love birthdays. Not just mine, but those of my family, friends and certainly our Grand. Each year, on January 3rd, we open our doors to the public for complimentary tours and yes, birthday cake! After all, what's a birthday without cake! On January 3, 2011, The Grand 1894 Opera House will celebrate its 116th. And while that doesn't quite compute with the 1894 in our name, (for those of you who can't help doing the math) it signifies the actual opening night, covered in detail by the Galveston Daily News way back when.

We've certainly had some interesting birthdays along the way. None was more powerful however than the one on January 3, 2009. Remember that one? One hundred and twelve days after Ike hit and only ninety-two days of construction and The Grand reopened for business with over two thousand people dropping by to have a look and say congratulations, followed by a sold-out performance by Jerry Jeff Walker. There were plenty of tears mixed with smiles that day. Good friends like Steve Smith and Rob Landes provided stories and music that touched hearts and perhaps comforted those who were there. We had no idea what to expect, but clearly our friends and neighbors from on and off the island were thrilled to see a return of a Galveston icon after the devastation we had experienced; and we had to send out for extra birthday cake six times before we sang and cut the decorated cake in front of the stage!

Some things never change. Jerry Jeff appears the first Saturday of January (whatever the date may be), The Grand celebrates a birthday and the shows go on. It's a time for memories and we've had too many to count. Victor Borge made The Grand part of his 90th birthday tour and we discovered his birthday was......January 3, but just a little younger than us. I'll never forget his falling off the piano bench and the entire audience gasping in fear. It was part of his act, but no one expected a ninety-year-old to take a prat fall. Then there have been the animals: in the early years, camels with fleas and an elephant for Aida; later a pony for Il Pagliacci as well as a Momus King; and Marilyn Maye brought her puppy onstage for a song. The Karamazov Brothers brought chickens with them, on the most psychedelic painted bus I'd seen traverse the Galveston streets; and my visit with them after the show is memorable in a whole different way and must be told only in person!

When we talk about The Grand as a jewel in Galveston's crown and even the state, we lay claim to a history as diverse and exciting as can be imagined for a theatre. First dates, premieres of new plays, budding dancers of all ages are all part of our rich and colorful fabric. Do you realize that we've premiered two new works in the last few years: Tuna Does Vegas starring our great friends Joe Sears and Jaston Williams, and Money, Marbles and Chalk, starring Holland Taylor. What a privilege for The Grand and Galveston to be tapped for those. Don't look now, but there's a possibility for yet another this summer, but mum's the word until we have it inked in.

We began this season, The Best of Times, with a line from a Spamalot song..."Always look on the bright side of life." That's not to say that we aren't struggling along with everyone in our country who is challenged by the economy. Tickets are harder to sell than ever and usually come more slowly, donations considered carefully by friends old and new. Theatres, and perhaps especially historic theatres, have an instinct for survival much like our island. We find ways to roll up our sleeves and step onto the stage of life and very soon we'll be doing that with our new sidewalk of stars. As we begin this new year, our wish to each of you is to celebrate with us, step back in time as we look to a future that's brighter and filled with promise. See you at The Grand!

Maureen M. Patton

Executive Director, The Grand 1894 Opera House