Crystal Theatre

The Crystal Theatre is a historic theater and performing arts center in Crystal Falls, Michigan, in the United States. Originally built in 1927 as a vaudeville and movie theater, it was first named the EJAY after its owner, E.J. Bregger, a local man with a love of the arts. The auditorium seated 820 people, and area residents enjoyed traveling vaudeville acts and silent films accompanied by live theater organ. The theater was on the vaudeville circuit, and traveling vaudeville acts made regular stops at the EJAY. After the vaudeville era ended, Bregger sold the theater to the Delft movie chain, which in turn sold it to Aldo Zaupa. As the Aldo Theatre, it showed movies through the 1970s until it closed in the early 1980s. In 1989, a group of visionary volunteers with an appreciation for both history and the performing arts accepted the challenge of restoring the theater to its original grandeur. During the restoration, a vintage Möller pipe organ was purchased and installed to replace the original organ, which had been sold earlier. The restored Crystal Theatre opened its doors fittingly in the spring of 1991 with a Forest Park drama production of Our Town. Today, the Crystal Theatre hosts a wide variety of entertainment, with about two concerts per month during the summer months. Artists often marvel at the purity of the acoustics, which many modern theaters cannot match. The current vision of the nine-member board of directors is to engage the extended community in the performing arts, making the Crystal Theatre the first choice venue. Donations of time and resources are always welcome. The theater offers Flex Passes for sale online or at the Box Office located in Stage Left, and tickets can be purchased 24/7 online or in person at Stage Left, Monday through Friday from 9 to 12. The theater's Möller pipe organ is the largest theatre pipe organ in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It consists of three manuals and 21 ranks (sets of pipes), originally built in 1927 by the M. P. Moller Company of Hagerstown, Maryland. There are more than 1,600 pipes, installed in on-stage chambers, ranging in size from half an inch to over 16 feet in length. In addition, there is an assortment of actual tuned percussions, drums, and sound effects installed in two chambers located on either side of the proscenium. The Möller organ was originally installed in the Illinois College of Music in Chicago, where it was used to teach accompaniment and scoring for silent films. There is some additional pipe-work in the instrument that came from another, similar Möller theater organ from Brooklyn. In addition to the organ, there is a Steinway Model D grand piano. The Crystal Theatre operates as a nonprofit organization governed by a nine-member board of directors. It is featured on the Michigan Back Roads – Getaways website. The theater's official website provides information on upcoming events, ticket sales, and ways to support the venue.

The Crystal Theatre was originally built as a vaudeville and movie theatre in 1927 in Crystal Falls, Michigan. It was first called the EJAY after its owner E.J. Bregger, a local man with a love of the arts. The auditorium seated 820 people, and area residents enjoyed traveling vaudeville acts and silent films with live theatre organ accompaniment. The theater was on the vaudeville circuit, and traveling vaudeville acts made a stop at the EJAY on a regular basis. Late in the 1940s, Bregger sold the theatre to the Delft movie chain, which, in turn, sold it to Aldo Zaupa. The Aldo Theatre showed movies through the 1970s until it closed in the early 1980s. In 1989, a group of visionary volunteers with an appreciation for both history and the performing arts accepted the challenge of restoring the theatre to its original grandeur. During the process, a vintage Möller pipe organ was purchased and installed to replace the original organ which had been sold earlier. The restored Crystal Theatre opened its doors fittingly in the spring of 1991 with a Forest Park drama production of Our Town. Today, Crystal Theatre hosts a wide variety of entertainment. Artists often marvel at the purity of the acoustics, which many modern theaters cannot match. There are about two concerts per month during the summer months. The current vision of the nine-member board of directors is to engage the extended community in the performing arts, making Crystal Theatre the first choice venue. Donations of time and resources are always welcome. The theater's Möller pipe organ is the largest theatre pipe organ in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It consists of three manuals and 21 ranks (sets of pipes), originally built in 1927 by the M. P. Moller Company of Hagerstown, Maryland. There are more than 1,600 pipes, installed in the on-stage chambers, ranging in size from half an inch to over 16 feet in length. In addition, there is an assortment of actual tuned percussions, drums, and sound effects installed in two chambers, located on either side of the proscenium. The Möller organ was originally installed in the Illinois College of Music in Chicago where it was used to teach accompaniment and scoring for silent films. There is some additional pipe-work in the instrument that came from another, similar Möller theater organ from Brooklyn. In addition to the organ, there is a Steinway Model D grand piano.

• 1991

  The restored Crystal Theatre opened in spring with a Forest Park drama production of Our Town.

• 1989

  A group of volunteers began restoring the theatre.

• 1980

  The theater closed in the early 1980s.

• 1970

  The Aldo Theatre showed movies through the 1970s.

• 1940

  Late in the 1940s, Bregger sold the theatre to the Delft movie chain.

• 1927

  Built as a vaudeville/movie theatre named EJAY after owner E.J. Bregger.

A historic, acoustically renowned community performing arts venue and the first choice venue for the extended community.

Product categories. Live concerts · Theatrical productions · Community events · Vaudeville-style performances · Movie screenings (historically)

1. 1The Crystal Theatre – Performing Arts Centerthecrystaltheatre.org
2. 2Theatre History – The Crystal Theatrethecrystaltheatre.org
3. 3Crystal Theatrewikidata.org
4. 4Crystal Theatre (Crystal Falls, Michigan)en.wikipedia.org