Theatre Historical Society 2006 Awards

posted by Karen Colizzi Noonan on July 7, 2006 at 6:11 am

The THS Awards Banquet at the Boston Conclave was a grand and exciting occasion! And the winners are:

This year saw the inauguration of our first annual CREATING THEATRE HISTORY AWARD which will be given each year to a theater or a person as selected by the Local Conclave Chairs to honor excellence within our conclave area. The committee this year selected CESAREO PALAEZ and the Cabot Street Theatre in Beverly MA. Cesareo’s story of his escape from Cuba as a young boy and his subsequent success in America is heartwarming. His childhood love of theaters led him to buy and restore this fabulous French Deco delight and use it to house his world famous magic shows.

THE BOOK OF THE YEAR went to THEATRES OF BOSTON by our late member Don King. This book was a long time project of Mr. King and was published after his death thanks to the dedication and determination of his friends. THS Northeast Director Bob Stinson accepted the award in Don’s memory.

The HONORARY MEMBER OF THE YEAR was given to Bob Ohmann who singlehandedly restored his family business The Ohmann Theater in Lyons, NY. Mr. Ohmann today is a successful developer in North Carolina but never lost his love of his grandfather’s vintage theater in the small canal town of Western NY state. Bob used his own resources and work crews to recreate the simple beauty of the theater while updating the projection and stage equipment to accomodate modern presentation.

And the main award of the night…. MEMBER OF THE YEAR went to Dr. John Kiesendahl for his many years of quiet service to THS. Dr. John heads up our all-important Elections Committee which does not get much public attention but plays a vital part in the smooth operations of your Society. Dr. John also produced, with Dr. Tom DuBuque, the wildly popular and successful Kansas City Conclave in 2004.

Congratulations to all of our winners!