Even before Warren County Public Library moved in and began managing the Capitol in 2021, we knew that the downtown theater would be a perfect setting for both library events and community programs. Since that time, the Capitol stage has played host to performances by community and student actors, local and touring musicians, celebrity speakers, and award-winning authors. Being a multi-use facility has proven valuable as well, bringing in patrons to access library materials and to shop at Capitol Books, the used bookstore run by Friends of the Library volunteers.
While researching the Capitol’s early history, library staff ran across an interesting Park City Daily News article from April 2, 1921, that demonstrates that having a building anchored on the square available for multiple purposes is a concept embraced even in the venue’s earliest years. Not long after the theater opened, manager J.P. Masters carved out space for an office to serve as the headquarters for a campaign to bring a public hospital to town. The article clipping in the picture accompanying this article (downloaded from Newspapers.com) provides an interesting look into the services available at the time. Interestingly enough, it mentions Bowling Green having a “public library,” which was in reality a volunteer-led subscription library run by a number of women’s literary clubs.
While movies, or “photo plays” as they were sometimes called, were the staple of the early days at the Capitol, vaudeville programs and lectures were also included as live, on-stage events. That tradition has carried on through the years and continues with the library’s offerings.
Early next month, inspirational author and artist Scott Erickson will appear on the Capitol stage Tuesday, February 6, at 6pm. For more than ten years, Erickson has been a full-time artist, doing work for CNN, National Geographic, various magazines, and newspaper outlets. He is an author (having written two and co-authored two more), a visual artist, and a performance speaker. His one-man shows are story-telling wonders, during which he combines visual imagery with humor-infused teaching to convey meaning and offer hope.
His one-man show, “Say Yes: A Liturgy of Not Giving Up On Yourself,” will be an entertaining, unique, motivational opportunity you won’t want to miss. During the presentation, he will guide audience members through and past what he calls a “very personal and universal conversation about the death of a dream and the overwhelming voice of giving up in our lives.” You can get free tickets for his comedic, interactive show through the library’s calendar of events or via this direct link: https://tinyurl.com/SayYesLiturgy. You can also find out more about his art on Instagram (@scottthepainter).
The Capitol will also have a couple of movie events the weekend of January 20 and 21. On Saturday, January 20, beginning at noon, film lovers are invited to enjoy our “Heist Movie Marathon” free of charge. Enjoy a full day of mob bosses, bank robberies, jewel thieves and charming common criminals as we explore films that keep us on the edge of our seats and rooting for the little guy with these movies:
•12pm: Classic Jewel Thief Heist The first film in the series introduces maladroit French police inspector Jacques Clouseau, who attempts to foil high-society thieves who have targeted a prize jewel called the Pink Panther. (Rated TV-PG, 1963)
•2pm: Identity Heist Leo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks star in this film about a charming 1960s conman who poses as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer while eluding a dogged FBI agent who is determined to put him behind bars. (Rated: PG-13, 2002)
•4:30pm: Bank Robbery Heist A bank robbery in Brooklyn goes wrong and evolves into a protracted hostage situation, turning the plan’s mastermind into a media celebrity and the event into a media circus. Based on a true story.
•6:45pm: Dark Comedy/Loveable Thief Heist Old Dolio, the 26-year-old homeschooled daughter to a dysfunctional pair of Los Angeles scam artists, begins to question her unconventional upbringing and her identity after her parents invite a credulous stranger to participate in an upcoming scheme. (Rated: R, 2020)
•8:30pm: Mafia Wife Heist Four Chicago women, who have lost their spouses to crime and are saddled with the fallout of their husbands’ criminal ways, decide to take matters into their own hands when they band together to try and forge a new future for themselves. (Rated: R, 2018)
WCPL’s Teen Advisory Board will take over the theater for an afternoon of movie fun to fight off the winter blues Sunday, January 21 from 1pm to 5pm with these feature films:
•1pm: Pixar Feel-Good Film All-new, original feature film set in Element City, where fire, water, land and air residents live together. (Rated: PG, 2023)
•3pm: Marvel Hero Film World-famous neurosurgeon Dr. Stephen Strange’s life changes forever after a horrific car accident robs him of the use of his hands. When traditional medicine fails him, he is forced to look for healing, and hope, in an unlikely place – a mysterious enclave known as Kamar-Taj. (Rated: PG-13, 2016)
There’s always something going on at the Capitol, so follow us on social media (@capitolbg on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter) or sign up for our email newsletter at capitolbg.org to stay up-to-date!
-by Ashley Fowlkes
Digital Content Manager
