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Fenwick Thespians performed on Sorg Stage 37 Years Ago

Written by Bill Klosterman

The Sorg Opera House first opened its doors on September 12, 1891. At the time, it was the most elegant theater in Southwest Ohio.  Patrons of the arts from Cincinnati and Dayton frequently flocked to the Sorg on excursion trains – the main mode of transportation in the late 19^th century.  Eventually time and progress took its toll and, for years, the theater was dormant.  In September 1981, Andrea McArdle, star of Broadway’s “Annie”, christened the renaissance of the Sorg at a commemoration to mark the 90^th anniversary of the magnificent structure.

A few short months later, Fenwick’s Drama Club made its first appearance at the Sorg with the production of “Play On”.  The club’s debut was a 3-part celebration:  the 90^th anniversary of the Sorg, the 60^th birthday of Sister Charles Regina McCarthy– Fenwick’s first drama moderator and the 30^th anniversary of Fenwick’s founding.

“Play On” was the hilarious story of a theatre group trying desperately to put on a play in spite of maddening interference from a haughty author who keeps revising the script.  A fixed movie screen only allowed 12-feet deep of stage space which required creative staging and set designs.  The following year, the Fenwick theater troupe returned to the Sorg with the production of “Time Out for Ginger”.   

Through the efforts of the owners and Friends of the Sorg*, the theater was upgraded in 1983 with a full stage, a refinished floor, rigging for back drops and dressing room facilities.   Fenwick once again graced the Sorg’s stage with back-to-back plays in 1984 with “Go West, Young Man” and 1985 with “Arsenic and Old Lace”. It is exciting to have the next wave of Falcons grace the stage once again at this historical location with tonight’s presentation of “Beauty and the Beast”!

Editors note:*Thanks to the efforts of the Sorg Opera Revitalization Group, the Opera House has been in the process of massive rennovations since 2012. There are not enough pages in this program to express adequate thanks for working with Bishop Fenwick to stage this production!