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(continued from previous page) eventually purchased the structure, the nonprofit
1868 Opera House has operated a successful 200-seat theater from
its comfortable and accessible street-level facility
beneath historic Antoinette Hall. For more than
“We soon discovered that the once opulent 20 years STAAR Theatre at Antoinette Hall has
performance hall built in 1868 had been known offered a full calendar of locally produced musi-
as Antoinette Hall Opera House,” Pierchoski said. cals, dramas and dances.
“The community enjoyed plays, traveling enter- For instance, within a 12-month period STAAR pre-
tainers, community events, musical performances sented more than 50 performances with approx-
and more for several decades.” imately 600 children ages 3-18 and more than
When its doors closed in the 1930s at the pinna- 300 adults on stage as well as another 100+ teens
cle of the Great Depression, its retail inhabitants, and adults directing, assisting, coaching and pro-
who were only concerned about the ground lev- viding technical service for productions.
el commercial space, and the community had “Like in the days of Antoinette Hall’s glory, many
walked away. entertainers from outside the area come to
“The spectacular, forgotten opera house need- STAAR to perform, bringing cultural, theatrical
ed loving proprietors and grateful theatergoers,” and musical events,” Pierchoski said, adding that
the community has enjoyed Country
music, Rock and Roll, Oldies, Celtic
and Gospel music as well as dancers,
magicians, comedians and traveling
plays.
Additionally, it provides a rental ven-
ue for classes, meetings and special
events as well as photo and video
shoots.
The Antoinette Hall Preservation Soci-
ety, an arm of STAAR, has launched a
major fundraising effort to support an
extensive stabilization and restoration
project. When completed, Antoinette
Hall will be transformed into a multi-
purpose community arts center that
will continue to be a home for STAAR.
“The restored facility will be available
Pierchoski said. “We hoped that would be STA- to arts, musical, theatrical, historic and other
AR.” types of groups that enhance the region’s cultur-
al life and stimulate the economy of the region,”
The owner agreed that the building could be in Pierchoski said. “One hundred percent of all
no better hands than the board of the all-volun- monies donated to the Antoinette Hall Preserva-
teer STAAR Theatre non-profit. tion Society or generated from fundraising efforts
and productions benefit restoration and adap-
“He recognized that our group was not only tive reuse of the oldest surviving Opera House in
committed to enhancing arts education for the Tennessee.”
community and bringing local and traveling per-
formances to the stage, we were also willing to Extensive information is available at www.antoi-
accept the challenge of preserving and restoring nettehall.com, including history, photos, doc-
the Opera House for current and future genera- uments, future plans, facility rental rates and
tions,” Pierchoski said. details, audition announcements, current pro-
duction news, online ticket sales and payment
The deal was done. Since STAAR leased and options for donation and patron registration.
PAGE 7 | INLEAGUE League of Historic American Theatres
