Monthlong Rally in the Alley events begin today

By BRIAN HEMMINGER

City editor

Community residents are being called on to support the Star Players with a membership drive through a monthlong series of Rally in the Alley events in downtown Upper Sandusky.

Beginning at 6 p.m. every Thursday in May, starting today, live entertainment and other assorted attractions will be featured in Star Alley just west of South Sandusky Avenue. The events are being coordinated by retired educator Jan Stoneburner. 

“I had been wanting to do a membership campaign for the Star Players for several years,” Stoneburner said. “I love the community. When I was a teacher in the high school, my speech class did a Rally in the Alley behind Upper Sandusky High School and it was so much fun. We had Jell-O wrestling and Domino’s made a pizza so big it got trucked in on a semi. I knew Rally in the Alley works.”

Stoneburner said she thought about what the Star has to offer as entertainment and a plan quickly formed. 

“I threw out feelers to some local entertainers and I got all of them confirmed right away,” she said. “Once I had the entertainers, I knew I could do it.”

Today’s event will feature live performances from Ron Boose and Sara Grote. It also will coincide with First Thursday’s food trucks and local businesses staying open later. Stoneburner also will offer tours of the Star Theatre.

May 9’s Rally in the Alley will feature Eric Bickhart in a Karen Carpenter tribute. It also will feature local food trucks and video testimonies from people from Upper Sandusky who were impacted by their association with the theater.

May 16 will feature local artists Larry Thiel and Brad Baker as well a Star Theatre hot dogs, Mark’s Homemade Ice Cream food truck and a photo contest.

May 23 will feature a performance from the Marvelous Wonderettes, food trucks and a small car show featuring vehicles from the era of the Wonderettes.

The final Rally the Alley on May 30 will feature local performer Ethan Korte, the Star Kids and an open mic night for local children.

Former Upper Sandusky Mayor Scott Washburn will be master of ceremonies for the events. Stoneburner said she’s trying to work with some of the youthful entrepreneurs in the area who are revitalizing downtown Upper Sandusky.

“I’m really impressed with young people who are trying to build downtown Upper into something really cool,” Stoneburner said. “We want to create a kind of theater district to compliment downtown. It feels like a team effort. Ron Boose had a dream of putting lights down Star Alley. We’re doing it. Mark and Nancy Johnson are paying for the lights. They’re being put up by Eric Gottfried. Pfeifer’s is giving us all the hardware.” 

Stoneburner said she contacted local businesses and invited them to be involved. 

“They’re coming out of the woodworks in a variety of ways,” she said. “Traum Brewery is going to have a canopy behind its building. Belle Toi’ is going to do easy hair care, braiding and tinsel in the hair. Janice Woods said she’d come down with a table of items from Woods’ Antiques ‘’N More. Patty Nelson at Total Concepts will have some kind of treat. Don Tomasso’s may do something in its back alley. It’s more than donating a raffle prize. We’re getting the businesses involved.” 

Magic 95.9 is expected to do a live broadcast at today’s Rally in the Alley event. Stoneburner said the broadcast is sponsored by Dan and Wendy Reid.

“There’s a feeling about Upper, it’s revitalizing,” Stoneburner said. We have all these neat restaurants and businesses participating. First Citizens Bank, Woven Yoga, Richardson’s Flowers and Woods’ Antiques all allowed their front windows to be decorated with themes from previous Star productions.”

As important as it is to look to the future, Stoneburner also said the Star Players are leaving a tribute to its past with banners hung on the side of the Star Theatre in Star Alley.

“There are five people who are critical to the beginning of the Star Players,” Stoneburner said. “The Star Players are the performers and they started in 1977. Back in 1976, there was the Bicentennial and Thelma Marsh, a historian here in Upper, she wrote a pageant called “Wyandot, Wyandot” and they performed it out at the Wyandot County Fairgrounds. The people in it loved it so much, they decided, ‘Why don’t we form a live group?’ and they formed the Star Players.” 

After the former owner of the downtown Upper Sandusky movie theater Leo Jones died, Stoneburner said Jeff Roth and Dan Shields bought the building.

The Star Players eventually bought the building from Jeff Roth,” Stoneburner said. “They own the building now. A lot of their money goes to maintain the building, pay utilities like heat during winter performances and royalties for shows.”

The five people honored with banners on the side of the building are Joy Roth, Darl Gerber, Jim Schoenberger, Katherine Artz and Ruth Bacon.

“Joy Roth was Jeff Roth’s wife; she definitely was a mover and shaker,” Stoneburner said. “Darl Gerber was the one that took care of the inside of the theater all the time. He remodeled the basement. He took out all the chairs, painted the floor. He was the go-to guy for years. Jim Schoenberger was my chemistry teacher. He was the electrician. He helped wire everything and ran the soundboard. Katherine Artz was a music major in college and she helped with the purchase of the Star Theatre. The Star Players were able to purchase the building because of her donation. Ruth Bacon, she was in on the beginning and she started Star Kids. She was a professor of speech at Heidelberg. We had lots of respect for her at the Star.”

Stoneburner said she’d love to keep adding to the banners over the years, honoring some of the heroes of the Star Players. 

“We thought this would be an awesome tribute to them,” she said. “We’re going to have banners be the backdrop to our entertainment, which is on a wagon by the door to the theater.”

Stoneburner said some seating will be available, but she encourages anyone coming downtown to bring their own lawn chairs so everyone can have a seat for the live performances.

Membership for the Star Players starts at $30 and increases to different levels, with additional perks earned for each level of support for the theater. Basic levels include discounted tickets to events at the Star Theatre and free popcorn. 

“There are so many expenses that go into putting on a live performance,” Stoneburner said. You have to have a lot of insurance. They pay and then hope to get it back out of their ticket sales, memberships or donations. The Star Players are a non-profit, but they’re not funded by the government. They have to raise their support on their own.”