By STU CLAMPITT
news@readthereporter.com
The year was 1925 and the Hedback Theater, 1847 N. Alabama St., Indianapolis, had just opened its doors for the first time. One hundred years later, Footlite Musicals is inviting you back in time for a one-night-only fundraising gala that might just be the event of the century.
On Aug. 2, you can go to a free open house to tour and learn about the history of the Hedback, but by buying a ticket to the centennial gala, you can live a night in 1925 and help keep the Hedback open until 2125.
Think a fundraiser can’t take you back in time? Ah, horsefeathers! If you get bent enough on this juice joint’s bootleg giggle water, anything could happen … you might even walk out swearing you were at a vaudeville show, daddy-o!
The Reporter spoke with Centennial Celebration Committee Chair Etta Biloon and Committee Member Marie Beason about an event that was literally 100 years in the making.
“As in any 100-year-old building, we need to make repairs, we need to make some renovations, we need to be looking ahead towards the future of the building,” Biloon said. “Given that we haven’t had a fundraiser in probably about 10 years, we decided to try and do something here to see if we could raise some funds for all these things that are starting to go wrong and things that need attention.”
There will be a free open house from 1 to 4 p.m. on Aug 2. The 1920s gala is a ticketed event that begins at 7 p.m. that evening with VIP options for those who want to delve even deeper into 20s life.
“We wanted to make this an opportunity for everybody to see what goes on here and see what’s behind the scenes of a theater,” Biloon said. “So that’s the afternoon event. In the evening is a gala event. It’s a 1920s-themed evening where you can dress up. It’s not required, but obviously theater people love to dress up.”
The gala will have a silent auction, raffles, and a VIP area in the Epilogue Theater next door.
Beason, who is in charge of arranging the vaudeville and speakeasy portions of the event, told The Reporter her relationship to this theater goes back to her childhood.
“Back in 1968 or ‘69, I attended Civic Theater’s Junior Civic Program in the building,” Beason said. “I actually saw a children’s production of Hansel and Gretel, and as I was walking up Alabama Street, I saw the kids leaving the stage door. All I can remember is saying, ‘Oh my God, they’re real!’ It really just solidified both my love of theater as well as the love of what can happen within this building.”
Thanks to Beason, the gala will feature iconic vaudeville players like Laurel and Hardy, Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, and W.C. Fields, along with music and dance.
“We’ll be dancing the Charleston,” Beason said. “We’ll be doing three skits, with the classic dance of Laurel and Hardy featured in one of them. It’s a mishmash of what research shows was a standard bill of fare for vaudeville: something light, a big musical number, dance, a comedy sketch, intermission, and then repeat the same thing over again in act two.”
According to Beason, you can relax, talk to folks, and be entertained by two-set 20-minute sessions of 1925 jazz fare.
This event is both about raising money to maintain the now-100-year-old building, and also about putting the community in community theater.
“I think every 100th anniversary should be celebrated in one way, shape, or form,” Beason said. “We’re trying to not only raise money, but also to raise awareness within the neighborhood – which has changed a great deal – about the quality of musicals that we present and the sense of community that it brings.”
This event is sure to be the cat’s meow, so don’t be a killjoy and definitely don’t dress like a rag-a-muffin. Get all dolled up, gas up the jalopy, and get a wiggle on over to the Hedback on Aug. 2.
For tickets and event information, visit footlite.org/centennial.