1 of 8
Photo by Sara Hughes
2 of 8
Photo by Sara Hughes
3 of 8
Photo by Sara Hughes
4 of 8
Photo by Sara Hughes
5 of 8
Photo by Sara Hughes
6 of 8
Photo by Sara Hughes
7 of 8
Photo by Sara Hughes
8 of 8
Photo by Sara Hughes
For many people, the term “girl Friday” conjures an image of an efficient and hard-working female assistant, one whose work is essential to the success of a firm or business. Certainly for Sonia Ross – who in the early 1970s was an aspiring stage actress, devoted wife and young mother of two – acting as the “girl Friday” for her husband Jim A. Ross’s burgeoning architecture firm, James A. Ross Architects, meant all of those things. But after his one-man firm (now known as Ross Tarrant Architects) won the historic preservation bid for the Lexington Opera House in 1973, that role came to mean many other things for Sonia Ross – not the least of which involved pouring and molding six tons of ornate plasterwork details by hand in her garage.
Originally built in 1886, the Opera House had been languishing for decades and was facing possible demolition when the Rosses started their preservation project. While conserving the actual stage house was the initial focus of the project, after a false ceiling above the stage completely caved in to reveal the ornately decorated original 1880s proscenium arch surrounding the stage, Jim Ross started thinking about ways he could incorporate some of those historic decorative details throughout the lobby and in other parts of the building.
“When they saw the proscenium arch and the plasterwork on it, Jim’s wheels started turning,” Sonia Ross said – this despite the fact that the arch was in “deplorable condition – pigeon poop, and you name it.”
The architect brought home a medallion that had fallen off the arch and asked his wife if she thought she might be able to clean it up, repair it and make a mold out of it.
“I put plastic bags on my lap with the kids running around my feet – I would sit and chisel and chip and take off and patch and repair,” Sonia Ross recalled. Once she figured out the initial process, her husband started bring home larger, more ornate decorative details for her to mold and cast.
“I’d be in [our garage] with my two sweatshirts, rubber gloves, a shower cap and a mask, and the water-heater man would come up to the window and look – I looked like something from outer space,” she recalled, adding with a laugh that her husband “came home to a wife half plastered every night.”
After several years that included lots of tears, trial and error, wasted plaster, and ingenuity, the Opera House reopened. And today, after more than 40 years of wear and tear from the original restoration work, local antique restoration expert Mason Roberts has been hired to rebuild and restore some of the details originally created by the Rosses that have been lost or damaged over time – with Sonia Ross occasionally standing over his shoulder, providing insight on her original process and methods.
Luanne Franklin, the Opera House’s performing arts director, said the highly detailed and painstaking work Roberts has been working on in recent months – which includes everything from remolding, recasting and reaffixing the original plaster filigree to matching the paint color on a patina that has faded over 40 years – is a “lost art.”
“That skilled craftsmanship is what’s the lost art,” Franklin said. She added that while there are companies around the country that specialize in the level of detailed historic restoration that Roberts is doing, it is typically extremely cost-prohibitive work – beyond the budget of the Opera House, which operates primarily as a rental facility and is managed by the not-for-profit agency Lexington Center Corporation.
The Opera House’s former technical director, John Ferguson, put Franklin in touch with Roberts earlier this year, after several of the plaster rosettes adorning the proscenium arch – the ornate frame around the stage – crumbled to the ground. While Roberts didn’t necessarily have experience preserving historic buildings, as the owner of the local antique restoration business Antique Services, he was well versed in preserving artisan details of bygone eras, and Ferguson thought his skill set and attention to detail would lend nicely to the delicate repair job.
Franklin now refers to the connection as “a manna from heaven.”
“All of a sudden, here is this young man who not only has the skill to do this, but who also wants to preserve and improve Sonia’s work – not change it,” she said. “It was like the stars lined up.”
For Roberts, the chance to expand his training with such an intricate and high-profile job was an unparalleled opportunity. In honing in on his process for the job, he dug deep into the recesses of his past, looking back to special effects tricks that he had often read about in the horror movie magazine Fangoria as a kid to create the latex molds for the rosettes.
“I used my memory from when I was 12 years old and wanted to blow people up on sets,” he said with a laugh.
Sonia Ross’ original rosettes likely crumbled due to damage from the theater’s modern-day sound equipment, Roberts said, so for the replacements, he turned to a heavy duty two-part urethane mixture – a material often used to create holds for rock climbing. He secured the rosettes with drywall screws and automotive adhesive, adding in an extra step beyond the traditional fastening method to account for possible future damage due to sound vibrations.
“Times have changed, and he’s with it,” Sonia Ross said. “Everything that he’s doing is just patience, pride in his profession, wanting to create a good product – and for people to see the quality of his work.”
After the arch details had been restored, Franklin turned Roberts’ sights to the elaborate staircase inside the theater’s “Broadway lobby.” Adorned with more of Ross’ handmade plasterwork, in a scrolling filigree pattern that she and her husband designed by piecing together several elements back in the 1970s, the staircase has become an iconic element of the theater. Because it is also a heavily trafficked area, repeatedly touched by purses or coats, many of those original details have seen significant damage over the past 40 years.
“Re-creating each piece isn’t necessary this time – Sonia did all of that work,” Roberts explained. “I’m just fixing areas that are worn or damaged.”
Because much of his day-to-day work with Antique Services involves repairing furniture and architectural details dating back to the 19th century or earlier, tediously reconstructing historic details has become like second nature to Roberts. Still, he has spent much of his time learning on the job. To that end, the ability to consult with Sonia Ross about her original techniques – and build on that knowledge using current technology – has proved invaluable.
Over the past several months that Roberts has been working on the restoration project – which wrapped up the week before the Opera House kicked off its 40th season of Broadway Live! in September – he and Sonia Ross have spent many an afternoon exchanging tips and tricks. It’s a unique relationship that Franklin has enjoyed watching unfold.
“Mason’s enthusiasm was part of what won me over,” Franklin said. “He wanted to preserve the historic integrity on the work [Sonia] had done and the work that she had replicated.”
“It sort of gives me chills when I think about it – it’s truly a statement about what the Opera House has been – and will continue to be – because of the craftsmanship of people like this,” she added. “That sense of integrity is crucial to the legacy of the Opera House.”
A Historical Look Back at the Opera House
In the early 19th century, Lexington was a hotbed for professional theater, boasting a professional theater company that preceded many larger Midwest cities, including St. Louis and Chicago, by 20 years. Downtown was home to several theaters, including an establishment known simply as the Opera House. It burned down in 1886, and Chicago architect Oscar Cobb was hired to rebuild it. Cobb spared no expense in making the venue a benchmark of opulence, with 596 seats cushioned with Turkish velvet, 250 gaslights, beautiful frescoes, a state-of-the-art Edison light board and 37 scenery vignettes.
The Lexington Opera House opened in 1887 with a concert by the Cincinnati Symphony, followed by a steady stream of dramatic and musical events. Its success continued for a quarter of a century, until the 1920s, when radio and motion pictures began to offer more immediate means of entertainment. Due to declining profits, the theater closed in 1921. It was quickly converted into a movie house, with a false ceiling covering everything above the second balcony – hiding the glory of much of the original proscenium arch that framed the stage. While vaudeville and burlesque acts played occasionally, the days of grand theatrical performances were over, and with its limited income the theater began to fall into disrepair.
In 1961, a neighboring building was demolished, leaving the Opera House susceptible to wind. Soon after, a strong gust caused the false ceiling to cave in while patrons were enjoying a show. Around that time, Lexington was preparing for a new Civic Center and Rupp Arena in the heart of downtown, prompting an increased awareness in urban renewal and historic preservation. A dedicated group of individuals, including Linda and George Carey, along with W.T. Young and others, began a campaign to preserve the theater in its original glory, eventually leading to the Opera House becoming part of the Lexington Center Complex.
In 1973, Jim A. Ross, founder of what is now Ross Tarrant Architects, had just started a small architecture firm when he won the bid for the preservation project. With lots of help of his dedicated wife Sonia, who refers to herself as the “girl Friday” for her husband’s one-man firm, the architect helped transform the dilapidated building to the original glory of its heyday.
A non-profit organization called the Opera House Fund was established around this time in an effort to support the arts in Lexington. The fund placed the Opera House under the management of Lexington Center and assisted with purchasing and restoring the venue and continues to support the Opera House through professional touring acts such as the Broadway Live! series. The Opera House Fund also subsidizes LexArts and other groups for their productions on the Lexington Opera House stage.
This year marks the 130th anniversary of the Lexington Opera House, and the 40th anniversary of its signature Broadway LIVE! series, which presents a handful of touring Broadway plays each year.