Encore! The Renaissance of Wisconsin Opera Houses

Doyle, Brian Leahy

ISBN 10: 0870204300 / ISBN 13: 9780870204302

Published by Wisconsin Historical Press, Madison, WI, 2009

About this Item

254pp. Signed with inscription by Doyle on the half-title page. First Printing. K11.

Seller Inventory # 013373

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Encore! The Renaissance of Wisconsin Opera Houses
• Publisher: Wisconsin Historical Press, Madison, WI
• Publication Date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0870204300
• ISBN 13: 9780870204302
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition
• Condition: Fine
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fine
• Signed: Signed by Author(s)
• Seller catalogs:
  • Theater
  • Wisconsin

About this title

Synopsis

A remarkable number of Wisconsin towns and cities were home to an opera house in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some were freestanding structures built by local benefactors, industrialists, and capitalists. Others were located within a city hall building and financed by local tax dollars with the support of government officials who believed in the value of the arts for their community

In Encore! The Renaissance of Wisconsin Opera Houses, Brian Leahy Doyle chronicles the histories of ten Wisconsin opera houses and theaters, from their construction to their heydays as live performance spaces and through the periods when many of these stages went dark. But what makes these stories so compelling is that all but one of the featured theaters has been restored to its original splendor. Just as the beginnings of these theaters were often the result of the efforts of local citizens, Doyle discovers that their restoration is due to the commitment of dedicated and passionate people. More than one of these revived theaters has spurred the revitalization of its surrounding downtown business district as well.

Encore! is the second book in the Places along the Way series. Richly illustrated with historic and contemporary photos, the Places along the Way series links Wisconsin's past with its present, exploring the state's history through its architecture.
 

About the Author

Brian Leahy Doyle, MFA, is a theater director and theater historian. He has been a member of the faculty at Lehman College, City University of New York, and St. Cloud State University. He is affiliated with such professional theaters as the Pioneer Theatre Company, the George Street Playhouse, the Whole Theatre, Louisville&;s Classics in Context Festival, Riverside Shakespeare, the Irish Arts Center, Makor/92nd Street Y, and the Lovinger Theatre. A native of Wisconsin, Doyle currently resides in New York.