In celebration of the Ohio Theatre’s 80th birthday, CAPA will present a nostalgic Sunday afternoon of “Mighty Morton” theatre organ music with Clark Wilson on Sunday, April 13 at 3 p.m. The theatre is located at 39 E. State St.

Wilson, well-known to Columbus audiences as the official organist of CAPA’s Summer Movie Series, will play a selection of popular tunes from the 1920s, when the Ohio Theatre first opened, through the 1980s. Audience members will get a live, bird’s eye view of Wilson’s talented fingers on a large projection screen via an above-keyboard camera. A second camera will be mounted inside the organ to showcase the inner workings of the massive instrument.

Admission is free. CAPA will be accepting food donations for the Mid-Ohio FoodBank at the door. Suggested food items include canned meats (tuna, beef or poultry), canned vegetables, canned fruit, grains (oatmeal, boxed pasta, or rice), peanut butter, complete meals (beef or chicken stew, ravioli), cereal, and macaroni and cheese.

When Scottish-born architect, Thomas W. Lamb, designed the Ohio Theatre, he envisioned “a palace for the average man.” Opened in 1928 as a Loew’s movie house, the Ohio Theatre was a 2,779-seat Spanish-Baroque masterpiece complete with its own orchestra and theatre organ.

In addition to movies, live stage shows touring on the Loews circuit found a home on the Ohio stage. During the heyday of vaudeville, many top performers crossed the Ohio's stage, including Milton Berle, Ray Bolger, Cab Calloway, Buddy Ebsen, Martha Raye, Jean Harlow, Ginger Rogers, Kate Smith, and a young emcee with a violin named Jack Benny.

To decorate and furnish the Ohio, Loew's chose Anne Dornan, one of the first women to graduate from the Columbia School of Architecture. Dornan traveled around the world to select art and furnishings, even going on a safari to find appropriate decorations for the "Africa Corner" in the lower lounge of the Ohio. Approximately $1 million was spent on art and furnishings, which was more than the cost of the building itself.

The magnificent Morton theater organ was also installed in 1928 at a cost of $21,000. It is equipped with a number of sound effects made by bells, cymbals, drums, whistles and marbles (to make the sound of waves). The pipes and sound effects for the organ are located behind the large gold drapes on either side of the stage.

The Ohio Theatre thrived as a movie house until the suburban sprawl of the 1960s drew traffic out of downtown. Like many grand theatres of the past, the Ohio was headed for demolition. In 1969, the citizens of Central Ohio mounted a “Save the Ohio” campaign, raising an unprecedented $2 million in less than a year. The newly formed Columbus Association for the Performing Arts (CAPA) subsequently purchased and renovated the theatre, creating a home for Columbus' performing arts institutions that to this day remains one of the busiest performing arts facilities in Ohio.

Today, the Ohio Theatre is home to The Columbus Symphony Orchestra, BalletMet, Broadway Across America, and more than 100 CAPA events each year including music from all genres and corners of the world, dance, theater, comedy, children's entertainment, and the time-honored Summer Movie Series.

The Ohio Theatre's lush interior, excellent acoustics, and state-of-the-art stage facilities have made it a favorite of performers and patrons alike, and further renovations to the backstage and dressing rooms have guaranteed that the Ohio Theatre will continue its grand tradition as the “Official Theatre for the State of Ohio.”

Clark is the resident organist and organ conservator for the Ohio Theatre, and also re-launched the renowned Chicago Theatre’s landmark Wurlitzer, heading the professional crew that began restoration on the historic instrument.

Along with a busy concert schedule, Wilson runs his own pipe organ business and is in demand as a tonal consultant and finisher of both theatre and classical pipe organs. He has received both the Technician of the Year and Organist of the Year awards from the American Theatre Organ Society, the only person to have been awarded both titles, and his time is now equally divided between concert and technical work. He has been professionally involved with more than 100 organ installations throughout North America and England, and has provided consulting and voicing expertise for several different organ companies.

For more information on his work and background, visit www.clarkwilson.net.
For more information about the Mid-Ohio FoodBank, visit www.midohiofoodbank.org. And for more information about the free concert on April 13, visit www.capa.com.