PEMBERVILLE – It’s unusual for a small community like Pemberville to entrust a historic gem to an
outsider.
"I’m not really a local. I’ve only been there 27 years," said Carol Bailey, who has been
accepted as a native by fellow Pemberville residents who have handed over their elegant opera house to
her to find entertainers to grace the grand old stage.
For four years, Bailey has been lining up shows for the first Saturday of every month from September
through May. Local theatergoers know they will get far more than classical quartets in the "Live in
the House" series. During the past year alone, the stage has featured Irish step dancing, a singing
cowboy, "Rat Pack" impersonators, jazz, a Buster Keaton silent movie, and a vaudeville act.

Bailey took on the job of "artistic director" at the opera house when she noticed the stage
being silent too many weekends. Sometimes it would go unused between visits by Broadway talent Jody
Madaras – who is a true native of Pemberville. Townspeople would flock to the theater to see their
hometown talent take the stage. But Bailey knew the opulent opera house was too grand a site to sit
quiet for so long between visits.
"It’s such a wonderful resource. It just cries to be used," she said.
The opera house guild agreed.
"I had wonderful support immediately," Bailey said.
Bailey started by offering a children’s theater workshop with a fund set up by former Pemberville
residents Judge Gale and Marlyn Williamson.
"They loved the opera house," she said of the Williamsons.
Those children’s workshops continue, but Bailey has expanded the use of the stage to much more. Each
month she schedules acts – from dixieland and barbershop quartets, to folk groups and community theater.
This fall, the opera house will host Japanese women telling stories and making origami.
"I think it’s wonderful," she said. "It’s wonderful to see it breathing again. It’s such a
joy to see it used."
Not only do the monthly performances keep the stage busy, but they also give townspeople a taste of
talents that most small towns cannot offer.
"You see people there who might not be able to see things otherwise," she said, noting that
during any given show, the majority of the heads in the room are, well, varying shades of gray.
"They really want to see some nice entertainment. It’s nice to provide quality, affordable
entertainment."
Bailey has great respect for the gem that has been entrusted to her. The opera house, sitting on the
second floor of the village hall, was originally built in 1892 then renovated by volunteer community
members in 1999.
The volunteer effort is being used as an example to other communities in Ohio.
"They see what Pemberville has done," Bailey said, noting that the site has been featured in
several historic books and magazines. "It’s used as an example for all these other opera houses.
It’s a shining example of what can be done in a community."
Michael Hurwitz, of the Ohio Opera House Initiative, has watched as several communities try to reclaim
old opera houses.
"Carol is really the template that we use around the state, showing people what can be done,"
Hurwitz said. "She’s made it into a viable performing venue. She is truly a success story."

Hurwitz and his wife, of Columbus, have performed as historical characters to a sold-out crowd in the
Pemberville theater.
"She’s a star," he said of Bailey. "She’s done it right. She has stayed faithful to the
project and it’s paying off for the community."
In its early heyday, the opera house was on a lyceum circuit for traveling entertainers. Theatrical and
musical groups would go from one train depot to the next to perform in such places as Pemberville, Grand
Rapids and Risingsun.
Finding entertainers is the easy part nowadays, Bailey said.
"They want to perform there," she said. "I could put somebody in there every week. But I
don’t have the budget and I don’t have the time."
Performers love the site because of the often sold-out crowds and the ambiance of the theater.
"The acoustics are to die for," said Bailey, who sings herself and works with her husband,
John, in The Piano Works business.
The size and slope of the stage do pose problems for some acts – such as the magician whose assistant
jumped out of a box. "At one point she nearly fell off the stage."
And the three tiny dressing rooms leave much to be desired.
"But what it has in limitations, it makes up for in charm," Bailey said.
The opera house also lacks an elevator – which would make it much easier for aging audience members and
performers.
Last year, the opera house came very close to getting its elevator when the site came in third place in a
national contest called "This Place Matters." But Bailey isn’t discouraged.
"I’ve not given up on the elevator," she said. "I want to start a capital campaign to
raise funds. I would look to see a thermometer (measuring donor support) in the front yard very
soon."
Bailey’s other goals for the opera house include offering more children’s programming, attracting younger
audience members to attend shows, and sharing entertainment with the Grand Rapids opera house. She would
like to see performers take the stage in Pemberville on Saturday evenings, then do Sunday morning shows
at a local nursing home, and finish up by putting on Sunday matinees in Grand Rapids.
Meanwhile, Bailey will continue to make sure "Live in the House" lives on in Pemberville – even
though she is an outsider of sorts.
"I don’t look at her as that," said Todd Sheets, whose roots go deep into Pemberville history
and who is a member of the local historical society. "She’s a natural."