Windsor Theatre show takes North Iowa back in time
We had the chance to take a step back in time during our visit to Franklin County, Iowa.
The Windsor Theatre was the site of “An Evening Like It used To Be IV.” The community hosted a vaudeville-style show and presented a silent movie.
We had a great time! The event last about 90 minutes and flew by.
The silent movie featuring Buster Keaton covered a couple’s first week of marriage. The actors did their own stunts. It’s amazing they didn’t kill themselves with some of the falls and gags. The movie had a live soundtrack, as a community orchestra performed.
Following the movie, “The Pythian Players” – a group of local performers – performed short acts and gags, mostly to laughter. There were a few moans and groans, but the audience was instructed to respond accordingly. LOL.
There was a ventriloquist act featuring dummies. You figure out which was which. BAM! Thank you. I am here all week. Try the veal. Seriously, the performers did a good job of controlling their mouth movement when speaking for the dummies. It was a cute act.
One girl performed a 1920s era dance.
An ongoing skit was “Doctor, Doctor,” as in someone would walk up and say “Doctor, Doctor, blah blah.” The Doctor would have a punch line to deliver. Overall, pretty funny.
A group of singers performed a barbershop quartet. They did an excellent job.
The audience got involved during a sing-along featuring older songs, such as “Song of Iowa,” “Bill Bailey,” and “You’re a Grand Old Flag.”
The evening’s events concluded with a comedy skit featuring the Pythian Players as students. They delivered some funny lines, such as “…you said we’d never get in trouble for something we didn’t do, right?…Well, we didn’t do our homework.” The audience laughed.
This was the fourth annual event at the Windsor.
The Windsor is 101 years old. The theatre hosted vaudevilles shows and movies during its time. It closed in 1996. It reopened in 1999 under new ownership.
The “Evening Like It Used To Be” started in 2011. About 240 people this year’s event.
Disclaimer: Thanks to the Franklin County Farm Bureau and Franklin County Tourism for the complimentary tickets to the show. However, all opinions and views are ours.
