Jim Beaver, Delaware Dinner Theatre, 1014 Delaware Ave, Wilmington
In 1976, Jim Beaver, his wife, Lorraine, and their son Max, all fresh from The Stone Barn and Fireside Dinner Theatre in Unionville, Pennsylvania, took on the Herculean task of bringing the New Century Club back to life. They leased the building with the option to buy, took out a home equity loan, then went to work.
There was little electricity. “We tore out the gas footlights and used the gas pipes as conduit for the electric lines,” says Max Beaver. (He and Lorraine now live in West Grove, Pennsylvania.) “The building needed new plumbing and a new kitchen, and the kitchen needed all new appliances. The roof on the main building was slate. There were many pieces missing, and there had been leaks. The walls—all of them—needed to be spackled and painted.”
The Beavers welcomed volunteers who wanted to help, but the public also came in to snoop and reminisce. “We had people wandering in telling us all kinds of stories about what they remember happening here,” says Max Beaver. “Apparently, beyond the weddings and cotillions, there had been boxing matches, card trading shows, bachelor parties and other theatrical productions. Someone taught ballroom dancing on the second floor, and there were even church services here when churches were being renovated.”
The Delaware Dinner Theatre opened in 1977. “There was probably more drama in the kitchen than there was on stage that night,” Max recalls. “Our opening was delayed as the building inspector had yet to give us the green light, so everyone was running home and cooking food in their own ovens.” Patrons waited patiently in a line that wrapped around the block.
There were years of very good theater there, and there were years of very good food. “Our chef, Mary Richie Johnson, made everything from scratch, including the ice cream,” says Lorraine Beaver. “We served 50 to 60 pounds of meat every night, along with everything else.” Mary Richie was also an onstage talent. She once performed while roasting a pig to impress a cranky critic. Days later she remarked, “The pig got a better review than I did.”
Many theatergoers still remember stellar productions with local talent, as well as actors from Philadelphia and New York. The building also housed the Delaware Ballet Company, Alcoholics Anonymous and a few tenants who took up residence on the upper floors. The theater also rented out its costumes and lighting. “When Bruce Springsteen started his East Coast tour,” Max Beaver says, “he rented lights from us.”
By 1982, it was clear that revenue was not covering expenses. Max Beaver, whose dream had always been to live in the theater he worked in, learned quickly to be careful what he wished for. “I was not only the artistic director. I was everything in between and the janitor. I just became the go-to guy for anyone who simply didn’t want to do the work. It got old very quickly.”
At the five-year point, the few remaining members of the New Century Club and Patterson Schwartz suggested the Beavers quit the lease. “The money to buy simply wasn’t there,” Lorraine Beaver says. “We closed our last show and closed the theater on the same night.”
For the second time, The New Century Club was up for grabs. Once again, Colonial Parking put in a bid. So did John and Marie Swajeski, advocates for the arts and theater education for the young. Again, the ladies chose the latter. Again, it was show time.
https://delawaretoday.com/things-to-do/meet-the-grand-dame-of-delaware-avenue/
Today the building is the Delaware Children’s Theater: https://www.dechildrenstheatre.org/
From Focus Delaware 4/23/1981
“Focus Delaware” aired on Rollins Cablevision & WNS-TV Channel 2 and WTGI Channel 61 from 1980 to 1987 and was hosted by Bob Weiner.
More info here: https://www.focusdelaware.com/
Focus Delaware
"Focus Delaware" aired on Rollins Cablevision & WNS-TV Channel 2 and WTGI Channel 61 from 1980 to 1987 and was hosted by Bob Weiner.
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