Page 9 - Granite Life JAN 2023

January 2023 GRANITELIFE.ONLINE Page 9
By BRittany amalfi
exciting things coming up for the community space. Darling, who has been the Executive Director for seven years, had nothing but good things to say about being involved with the Franklin Opera House. He understands how vital the arts are for a community, and how they bring people together. “I love working with organiza- tions to bring in performances that people want to see. The best part is when people come up to me after the show and say, ‘that was great,’” Darling said.
The Franklin Opera House is nothing short of up-and-coming in the Franklin Community. With different monthly events, folks can look forward to the “Murder on the Oriental Rug, Mystery Dessert Theatre by the Franklin Footlight Theatre on February 10th and 11th at 7:00 PM.
The Executive Director also wanted to highlight the hard
work of the Board of Directors as well. “I work for a board of directors, and they are a really dedicated group of people and are working on their first Capital Campaign,” Darling informed me. “The goal is to raise a couple of million dollars for the opera house, so it’s all really exciting.”
However, there are exciting things on the horizon for the Franklin Opera House. All Mr. Darling could say about that was, “stay tuned. There will be a lot of news in the coming months.” There is no doubt that the opera house is a space to watch with ev- erything that Darling teased. The people of Franklin are ready for more excellent entertainment, and The Franklin Opera House is prepared to give it to them.
For more information on the Franklin Opera House, please visit www.franklinoperahouse.org
Franklin Opera House: A Sight to See
Community
The Franklin Opera House certainly has a rich history that is worth telling, seeing as the build- ing has been around since 1892. Originally constructed as the Soldier’s Memorial Hall, it was soon referred to as “The Opera House.”
Back in the day, the red gran- ite and brick building was home to the police and water depart- ments, the city court, a theater, and a functional hall. Then, during the late 1990s, a new po- lice station and courthouse were built, so a group of people came together to reclaim the opera house. And with the vision of creating a space for entertain- ment coming to light, the opera house came to be once more.
Franklin Opera House’s first performance in the new space was put on in 2001 thanks to the Franklin Open House Resto- ration Committee, which evolved into a nonprofit corporation, Franklin Opera House Inc. And since then, they have provided performance opportunities for hundreds of people in the com- munity.
And now, the 125-year-old building is the home of many forms of entertainment, from shows to school plays to musical acts. The FOH also serves as the home base for the Franklin Foot-
light Theatre, which is a com- munity theatre group founded in 1995. Since then, the popularity of the opera house has grown sig- nificantly over the years. When the opera house puts on events, the restaurants in the area are swamped with people. There is no doubt that people love going to see a good form of entertain- ment, and the FOH always de- livers.
I had the opportunity to speak with Franklin Opera House’s Executive Director, Dan
Darling, about the opera house's fascinating history and new and