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| Photo Credit: Greg Hume |
The theater tradition in Mason County dates back over two centuries. Performances at the Washington, Kentucky “Court House” were announced in the local newspaper, complete with play titles, performance dates and prices – the first record of a stage performance west of the Allegheny Mountains. By 1817, a theater had been built in nearby Maysville at the corner of Second Street and Fish Street, now Wall Street.
In April 1850, a fire destroyed most of West Second Street, taking with it, among other buildings, the original theater and the Presbyterian Church, known as the Old Blue Church. The church congregation decided to relocate to Third Street, and The Opera House, a very elegant theater, was built on the lot they left vacant. At this time, two fire companies were formed, one named the Washington Fire Company, in the hopes another disaster of the fire’s magnitude could be avoided.
Unfortunately, fire struck again on January 30, 1898, and The Opera House was gutted. The Washington Fire Company, regretful they couldn’t save the beautiful theater, vowed to restore it. Construction took almost 10 years and cost $24,000, and the Washington Opera House, as it came to be called, reopened in 1908.
Now the fifth oldest performing arts theater in the United States, the Washington Opera House has presented performances by notables such as Marguerite Clark, Tom Mix and John Philip Sousa and his band. It even hosted the premiere of George Clooney’s The Leatherheads in March 2008. (Maysville holds a special place in George Clooney’s heart. It was the early home of his father, Nick, and his aunt, actress Rosemary Clooney. He named his production company Maysville Pictures, and the company logo is a sketch of Maysville’s iconic bridge across the Ohio River.)
But the Maysville Players, in residence since 1962, aren’t the only performers to call the Washington Opera House home. While the story has changed over the years and varies according to who is telling it, almost all agree that Loretta still performs there as well.
Loretta (Laura) Stambo was said to be a singer or dancer in a local traveling troupe that regularly performed at the old Opera House. Sometime shortly before the Opera House burned, the troupe passed through again, and Loretta, ill with pneumonia, vowed to go on, as the venue was her favorite. Sadly, she collapsed on stage and died a short time later, some say in a nearby hotel room while others say she passed in her dressing room. Either way, Loretta’s dying wish was to be buried beneath the theater she loved, the Opera House.
It’s not known if Loretta’s wish was granted as no records were kept or stories reported. However, legend says it was and that she was buried beneath the floor of the dressing room, directly under the stage she loved so well.
While the fire may have destroyed any evidence of Loretta’s grave, it did not deter her presence, and she’s been a resident of the Washington Opera House since its opening. Some of the paranormal activity attributed to Loretta includes disembodied voices, levitating objects and exploding bottles. She’s even reported to have attempted to drop an overhead stage light on a group of people who had gathered on the stage to discuss the possibility of buying the theater and tearing it down.
Other stories of Loretta depict her as being quite helpful to performers and stage hands. During one dress rehearsal, a wooden beam came dislodged and fell toward the stage below, but it suddenly slowed its descent, as if guided by ghostly hands, allowing the people under it to escape harm. Loretta was given thanks. She was also thanked when a stage hand asked another for a board, only to have it levitate and then gently deposited at her feet.
At least one paranormal group has investigated the Washington Opera House, and while they didn’t gather any video evidence, they did capture a couple of EVPs, or electronic ghost phenomenon.
If you get a chance visit the Washington Opera House in the picturesque river town of Maysville, Kentucky. Even if you don’t see Loretta, you might be able to catch a spirited performance by the Maysville Players.
Note: Loretta is featured in the children's book, Broomsticks The Halloween Spirit, by authors Sean McHugh and Katie McHugh Parker, both natives of Maysville.
Note: This is a repost of a piece I have previously published on another site.
I was the piano/conductor for a teen production of "Into The Woods" for the Maysville Players back in the 90's. For this production I was privileged to have my son available to play in the pit with me. This came in handy as I needed a witness, as you will see..
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.Over the years, I had regaled my son regarding the stories of Loretta, and prior to this time, that's what they were.. just "stories." I had heard many of them going back to the days of Anne Parker and many others.
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.However, during this summer production my son and I were backstage during intermission, just chatting with some crew and other ork people. Suddenly, the first aid kit (mounted backstage right on the wall below the old 1920's lightboard), began to rattle. It made noise for 10-15 seconds, long enough to get our attention, when suddenly the white door to the mounted kit slowly came open.
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.OK, this was possibly due to the age of the fixture, outdoor wind? (the kit was near the backstage door).
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.The final action that made a true believer out of me, was that the entire contents of the first aid kit gently moved out, horizontally. Not just one or two pieces, mind you, but the entire contents, bandages, cremes, tongue depressors et al.
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.The contents moved out roughly 2'-3' from the box, and then gently came straight down to rest on the floor.
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.I looked at my son, Ryan. He looked at me. I asked, "did you see that? Because if you didn't see it, then I didn't either."
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.He looked at the contents on the floor, then back at me, and confirmed, "I saw it, but I'm not sure I believe it.."
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.Having a witness to bear that I wasn't alone and out of my mind, we added our experience to other incidents that have been reported over the years.
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.I did music work for the players for 20 some-odd years during the 80's and 90's, and spent many a late night alone in the theatre setting up the orchestra pit for the next day's rehearsals, and other such activities. Until that afternoon (it was a matinee performance), I had heard all of the stories, but considered them just folklore and some of the "color" that is part and parcel of the wonderful Maysville Players, but had never actually witnessed a real occurrence.
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.From that moment on, I and my son became confirmed believers of the "Spirit of Loretta," as reported by others over the years.. If you hear others tell the tales.. BELIEVE IT!
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.All my best,
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.Rick Ashworth, Musical Director
.Broadway II Productions
.rick@bway2.com
Mr. Ashworth, I'm a believer too! Had a similar occurrence when I was in "Lil' Abner" in 1979. Mine happened in the afternoon too while working on the set. It involved a large piece of ply wood not falling, but gracefully floating to the floor near the woman I was working with. This happened just after she asked me if I could hand it to her. Loretta was kind enough to do it for me.
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