Iroquois Amphitheater is ready to celebrate its 85th birthday

Brian Smith and Joseph Rubin disccuss the festitivies planned for the Iroquois Amphitheater's upcoming 85th birthday...

Episode Transcript

(00:01):
We love drawing around money prizes.We do that too. In fact,
there's a little historical clip I'm gonnaplay for you in a minute or two
dealing with that very topic. You'rea news radio A forty whas Terry Miners
here coming soon the Iroquois Amphitheater's eightyfifth anniversary. Oh my goodness, everybody's

(00:23):
seen a show at the Iroquois Amphitheater. I think I saw the Ario speed
Wagon. It's like, why isthat wagon speeding? I guess Ario one
of them to speed it up alittle bit. They've got a special show
coming up soon and a couple ofguys that are connected to the Amphitheater.
Actually, the music director Joseph Rubinis joining us from Afar, but he'll

(00:46):
be here for this show. MisterRubin, welcome to the broadcast. Thank
you so much for having me.Well, you are more than welcome to
be here. And Brian Smith alsowith us with Iroquois amphi Theater. Brian,
how are you? Bro Hey?Terry, thank you, I'm great.
How are you doing? I hearthe Iroquois Amphitheater is still looking great.
I haven't been out there for ayear or two it's been a couple

(01:07):
of years since then, but it'sstill in pretty good shape, isn't it,
Brian. It is in better shapethan it has ever been. This
year we got us a brand newroof, a new fence, all kind
of capital improvements going on. Weare eighty five years young, getting ready
for our next eighty five. Whatare some of the other events that you're
doing. You still have movies there. We have movies every Wednesday night except
for next Wednesday, when our Wednesdaymovie is going to be on Thursday,

(01:30):
but that's because we're having a DominicFight concert at Wednesday night. But yes,
every Wednesday until the end of Septemberwe have our free movies. And
we've been having a fantastic turnout.The Homestead Park Conservancies out here with us
and we have a great time.That's phenomenal and the place sounds great.
I mean a lot of people.Of course saw zz Top there. That

(01:51):
was Was that a couple of yearsago? Yeah, that was actually my
first event working here at the Amphitheaterand that was one for the books.
Yeah, you bet, I knowJad was opening on that show and he
was excited about that. But youknow, the things people have seen over
these eight and a half decades areunbelievable. So, mister Rubin, you've
decided that you're going to bring backa little taste of music from back in

(02:13):
the day. Yes, yes,well back from nineteen thirty eight to nineteen
fifty eight, the Iroquois Amphitheater broughtBroadway to Louisville, and that's what we're
going to bring back for this onenight on September second. All the music
from there was seventy eight different titlesof musical comedies and light oppers that played
there, and hundreds and hundreds ofthousands of people from the Kentucky area with

(02:38):
common see the shows and the Broadwaystars. I loved the clips you sent
me from our radio station, Likethe lifetime ticket winner. Let me play
a little bit of that. Thisis they're interviewing a woman who won lifetime
passes to the Iroquois am Theater.I'm a young lady took her lunch out
to buy tickets to an Amphitheater performance. As she received her tickets, she

(03:00):
was told that she had just purchasedthe one millionth ticket and she was to
receive two lifetime passes to all ofthe Amphitheater Productions. That young lady is
miss Almedia Polly, and she's withus tonight here. She is the winner
of the lifetime passes to Iroquois Amphitheatermiss Almedia Poly Yeah, al Media,

(03:20):
And I'm sure people were like,what lifetime. I hope she got good
use of those. We don't haveany history, we don't have any knowledge
as to how many times she gotto use her tickets. I don't know,
Terry, but she may have beenhere last Wednesday for the movie.
I hope, so I will totally. I will honor her those vouchers forever.
I love them. And the musicthat played is a beautiful Another clip

(03:45):
you sent me, mister Ruben fromBroadways Great White Way two, Louisville's ARAPUOI
Amphitheater music under the Star that isso cool. That is July twenty eighth,

(04:09):
nineteen forty nine. And you know, I can just picture these people
all dressed up and scurrying toward theIroquois Amphitheater for a great show. And
that radio show was recorded that waslive in your studio there with an orchestra
and the chorus and everybody everywhere inan audience right there publicizing the shows to

(04:30):
go and see that week at They'reabsolutely amazing that still exists. So tell
us about the show that you're goingto put on on Labor Day weekend in
September two, September second, Well, number one, it's completely free and
open to the public. Note tickets. Is going to be absolutely amazing celebration.
We want everyone to come out andsee it. We have a twenty
five piece orchestra, all Louisville professionalmusicians. We've got four soloists, opera

(04:56):
stingers that have suck in New Yorkand all over the country and brought shows
and everything. And we have achorus local chorus, and we're doing all
this music from the golden age ofmusical theater. When you think Jerome Kern
and George Gershwind, Cole Porter,Sigmund Rothberg, Victor Herbert. If you
love musical theater or the great Hollywoodmusicals of the thirties, forties and fifties,

(05:18):
you will love this concert. Iwould guess that it was probably fun
finding musicians for this as well,because there are a lot of folks that
just still revel in this type ofmusic and have an opportunity to get back
to the Iroquois Amphitheater stage is athrill. Everyone is so excited to be

(05:38):
able to put this music together.And the fact that we're using the original
orchestrations for all of these numbers,the same orchestrations in the arrangement, just
as audience has heard it back inthe thirties, forties and fifties at the
Amphitheater. So we're trying to makeit like people will have costumes on the
soloists or have these big on thebackup. We have these start photos from

(06:00):
the Amphitheater that will be projected sothey can see the scale of the noubty
of these productions. That was absolutelyamazing. We're going to time transport the
audiences back in time, and Septembertwo is a Saturday night, so we're
talking about the free show Saturday night, seven thirty pm on Labor Day weekend.
That's right, that theater is sofamous and Brian I was looking at

(06:24):
one of the like postcards that wasused for the advertisement for this particular show,
and it's without the roof. Ofcourse, back in the days,
I'd forgotten that the whole thing,you know, was exposed for so long
and then the roof came on,kind of changed the whole dynamic of the
thing because obviously the weather is notas much a factor. Indeed, yeah,

(06:44):
well, for sixty five years weworked compless, it is a fact.
But about twenty years ago we underwentour major renovation where we did cover
up half of our seating area soyou can come and see a show and
be protected from the elements, orif you choose to sit a little bit
further back, you can't see thestars under the stars indeed, and Brian,
like other theaters, does some ofthe celebrities sign a wall or anything

(07:06):
back there where you've seen famous signatures. Well, we don't have a signatory
wall, although that is an ideathat we are kicking around these days.
But we do have a whole severalwalls full of autograph pictures and posters and
memorabilia from all the folks that comethrough. In fact, it's part of
their contract. You said the zzTop show was your first event. Of

(07:29):
course, that was Dusty's last show, and I'm glad that we had him
here. Indeed, it was avery special show to be out. Of
course nobody knew at the time,but for him to have his last performance
here with us at the park wasyou know, indeed it was a moment,
hey, mister Rubiner. People allowedto use their phones, like to
take pictures or video or is thatrestricted? No? Absolutely, we want

(07:53):
people to share this with other,with all their friends, and we want
all their friends the company see thatwe've got were two thousand seats to fill,
right, Brian, Right, Sowe want to make it a really
special event with the gates open atsix pm, the show starts at seven
thirty, and it's going to bea really wonderful evening that hopefully we'll be

(08:15):
one for the ages. We wantpeople that remember, I'm sure there's people
still out there that listening to ustoday that remember seeing these Broadway shows at
the Airquois back in the nineteen fifties. Maybe not the nineteen forties, of
the nineteen fifties, it may havebeen in it, and we would love
to talk to you. Guys comeup afterwards and introduce yourselves as you were
actually in the cast of one ofthe shows. Oh yeah, of course,

(08:37):
there have to be people that wereconnected to shows that are still around,
and yeah, we're celebrating the eightyfifth anniversary of the Amphitheater and Brian.
And that's a big task for youfifteen years from now because I know
you're still going to be working there. But the centennial is going to have
to be just massive. We arealready planning for it, and you're right,
there is no place on Earth I'drather be. I mean, where

(08:58):
else would you rather be? Exceptmaybe on the radio. I'm going to
text you Taylor Swift's personal phone numberand I want to make sure that you
line her up for that hundredth anniversary. She'll probably still be on twur fifteen
years from now, but yeah,no doubt her and Kiss Kiss I actually
saw them last year and Louder thanLife. All right, fellas, I

(09:20):
hope this show goes well. Wherecan they find other information? You have
a regular website, don't you,at Iroquois Amphitheater dot com. That's correct,
Terry, Okay. People can gothere and see all the events that
are going on at Iroquois Amphi Theater. Mister Rubin, so glad you put
together this show. I think it'sgoing to be fantastic. Thank you so
much. Great talking to you andappreciate you sending me those WHF radio clips.

(09:41):
Thank you for playing okay brother,Thanks so much. Joseph Rubin Brian
Smith with Iroquois Amp Theater. Theeighty fifth anniversary show is Saturday, September
two, seven thirty pm. Itis soloists and a twenty five piece orchestra
under the direction of Joseph Rubin.You just heard on there, but there
there's celebrating the golden age of musicaltheater and tying that in of course to

(10:05):
the great history of Iroquois Amp Theaterthat's had all kinds of productions over this
eight and a half decade Saturday Septembertwo. Website again is Iroquois Amptheater dot com