Facts:

• The old courthouse in the middle of the square in McKinney, Texas is now a Preforming Arts Center.  In the room that was once the courtroom, there is now a stage that is used to entertain the masses.
• This theater is also home to a 1927 Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organ. This was the type of organ that played music for silent movies.
• Last week in the Dallas Morning News, it was mentioned that an organ concert plus music hall acts would be performing at the McKinney Performing Arts Center. (That would be the old courthouse.)
• Senior citizens were admitted free of charge. (What a deal!)
• All but a handful of the attendees were senior citizens.  And I am here to tell you – people watching that night was too much fun.  There were Red Hatters and other characters.

As we entered, Mr. Bob Whiteman entertained us at the Wurlitzer Theater Pipe Organ.  He is a member of the North Texas Chapter of the American Theater Organ Society (NTC-ATOS).  He has worked on many productions at the McKinney Performing Arts Center, and his music put us in the mood for the evening performances.

Neither the Performing Arts Center or the city of McKinney own this theater pipe organ.  McKinney Performing Arts Center provides this organ with a home.  Clear as mud – and do you care?

At some point in time, the original organ from 1927 was expanded with parts from another Wurlitzer organ so that this organ now has three keyboards and 17 ranks of pipes.

The console of the organ is what we see on the stage.  It is like the tip of an iceberg.  The console is the control center for several tons of equipment installed in the two pipe chambers on the third floor of the theater.

During intermission, we were invited to see one of the two rooms that house the pipes for this organ.

I learned.  Theater pipe organs have two volumes – silent and loud.  The volume we hear in the audience is controlled by the wooden panels – the more they are open, the louder the music.

There are so many pipes and instruments.  Here are a few listed in the program – marimba harp, xylophone, glockenspiel, cathedral chimes, drums, cymbals, castanets, horns, and other special effects.  Fitting all of this into these rooms was a challenge.  In fact, the man told us they had to remove baseboards in order for everything to fit.

It was a tight squeeze just to peek into this room because the instruments were installed from floor to ceiling.

The featured artist for the evening was Mark Herman.  Last year he was named the American Theater Organist of the Year.  “He is the youngest person ever to receive the prestigious honor.”  He was amazing.

Theatre Britain provided the “Taste of Old Time Music Hall” performances.  It was similar to a vaudeville show.

The pictures of these players are awful mainly because I was taking the pictures in the dark.  Mr. Scott Scripps sang “A Bird in a Gilded Cage.”  He had a beautiful voice.  There were more songs and poems to entertain us.  I loved Theatre Britain’s rendition of “The Master and the Maid.”  It was pantomimed and performed forward, backwards, and fast forward.

Theatre Britain’s signature show is the traditional British ‘panto’ – a fairytale told in the style of a melodrama.   I think it would be great fun for the entire family.  From November 30 – December 29, 2013 they will be performing ‘The Three Little Pigs” at the Cox Building Playhouse in Plano. Go to www.theatre-britain.com for more information.

The theater pipe organ will be played again during the “Silents on the Square” silent movie series (Saturday October 19th 2013).  There will be a scary silent film for Halloween accompanied by the theater pipe organ.  We attended one of these performances a few years ago, and I hope to go again.

Blessings to you and yours,