COLUMBUS, Ga. — Georgia’s historic theaters are getting a big boost thanks to the Fox Theatre in midtown Atlanta and one of those theaters is the Springer Opera House in Columbus.
Channel 2′s Wendy Corona went down to Columbus to show off a state theater rich with history.
“When the Springer celebrated its 100th anniversary is when Jimmy Carter designated the Springer Opera House as the State theater of Georgia,” Danielle Patterson Varner, Springer Opera House CEO and Executive Producer, said. “I remember being backstage and just being in awe of everything. The costumes, the architecture, how you felt it just when you walk into this building, it captures are a part of you and it doesn’t let go.”
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Captivated by the theater as a child, Patterson Varner is now its CEO and remains dedicated to preserving its legacy.
“Edwin Booth performed on the Springer stage and quoted the words ‘To be or not to be’ right there on that stage,” she told Channel 2 Action News. “We’ve had Hal Holbrook perform on that stage, Booker T. Washington.”
The theater’s moving performances connect with the community, so the community saved the Springer from the wrecking ball in the 1960s, banding together to fund a restoration project, then another restoration in 1998.
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“This community is so giving, so caring,” Patterson Varner said.
The theater makes sure to give back, too, by helping other nonprofits and by providing education programs.
“That’s what we try to do here, bring this community together for those shared experiences, so they become stronger as one,” Keith McKoy, Springer Opera House artistic director, said.
To help continue those shared experiences, the Springer is receiving support from Atlanta’s Fox Theatre, and the Fox Gives grant program.
The program is designed to help restore and preserve Georgia’s historic theaters.
“They all have different needs, different supporters,” Leigh Burns, Fox Theatre Director of Community Partnerships, told Channel 2 Action News. “But one thing they have in common is just being the best that they can be. Having their building look as good as it can.”
Over the past 16 years, Fox Gives has awarded more than $3.7 million to more than 70 historic theaters.
The Springer Opera House was recently featured in Georgia’s Hidden Treasures on Channel 2′s Family 2 Family special.
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