It was a real "Mickey/Judy Moment" - And it happened at the Orpheum!
On April 12, 2022 we received a visit from Esther "Babe" Daley. She worked at the Orpheum Theatre during her senior year of high school. Esther worked in the small ticket booth located outside the entrance of the Theatre from 1942-43 selling tickets and answering phone calls regarding show times for the current films.
Esther was in the booth selling tickets on a Saturday night in February 1943 when she sold a ticket to a young man. While she may have only glanced at him, he stared at her. Apparently, he was suitably impressed, so much so that when he entered the Theatre he immediately went down to a pay phone in the the lower lobby and called the ticket booth.
The young man asked Esther if she remembered him. When she said she remembered him, he asked if he could drive her home. Apparently she was impressed enough by Frank Daley to accept his offer. Esther and Frank were married in June 1943. They had four children together and were married until Frank passed away in 2000.
Esther was thrilled to visit the Orpheum with her children, now all adults with children of their own. We were really glad that they all could visit.
Special thanks to Chuck Emmert, Video Production Coordinator for the City of Phoenix, for joining us for Esther's visit to the Orpheum and for documenting the event in the wonderful video below:
Filibus: The Mysterious Air Pirate
Sunday, May 8th @ 5:30p
The Friends of the Orpheum Theatre presents "Filibus: The Mysterious Air Pirate", a 1915 color-tinted silent adventure film starring Valeria Creti, directed by Mario Roncoroni, and written by the future science fiction author Giovanni Bertinetti.
“Baroness Troixmonde, aka Filibus, the mysterious air pirate, commits heists then retreats to the safety of her dirigible airship. When an esteemed detective sets out on her trail, the prankish jewel thief begins an elaborate game of cat and mouse with him, slipping between male and female identities to romance the detective’s sister and stage a midnight theft of a pair of valuable diamonds.
A precursor to today’s gadget-driven thrillers, Filibus is noted by film historians for its pioneering use of lesbian attraction, gender-fluidity, and science fiction motifs. This light-hearted adventure film is digitally remastered with English inter-titles.
Silent film musical accompaniment by RPM Orchestra, best known for composing original scores to accompany movies of the Silent Era. The “dieselpunk music” quintet was awarded ‘Best of Phoenix – Best Live Accompaniment’ for its work, by Phoenix New Times, in 2018. Filibus with RPM Orchestra @ Orpheum Theatre is an Immersive “Silent Adventure Film Score” Experience sponsored by Downtown Phoenix, Inc
Orpheum Ghost Tours
Saturday, May 14th @ 6p, 7p & 8p
Hosted and sponsored by The Friends of the Orpheum Theatre, Phoenix Ghost Tours will provide hour-long tours of the Orpheum. Exploring places normally off limits to the public, guests will get historically accurate details of the Orpheum and stories of those spirits continue to visit the theater. Come join us on a truly unique tour that will take your breath away in more ways than one.
All proceeds go to The Friends of the Orpheum Theatre, a non-profit 501c(3) who serves to provide historical, educational, and fundraising support for the historic Orpheum Theatre.
FOTOT Gives Special Thanks - to the Orpheum's technical staff, Todd Rambo and Dylan Dube. They spent many, many hours helping to install, and then fine tune, the sound system and projection equipment, and they take a great deal of pride in the results of their work.
Support the Friends, Become a “Star” – here is a unique way to support FOTOT. For $100 you can purchase a brick which will be placed in the “Avenue of the Stars”, located just east of the Theatre in the City Hall Plaza. You can purchase a brick to honor your family, a friend, someone you admire, or to celebrate an event (graduation, birthday, etc.). For more information, visit our website (fototphx.org).
Attention Fry’s Shoppers – you can donate to the Friends every time you shop at Fry’s, and it’s free. Fry’s is donating $2 million a year ($500,000/quarter) to Arizona non-profits.
Go to FrysCommunityRewards.com
Register your Fry’s VIP card
Select Friends of the Orpheum Theatre as your non-profit of choice.
Remember: your donation is free, and this program is separate from the gas program.
AmazonSmile - You shop, AmazonSmile donates. Shop at smile.amazon.com to support a charity at no extra cost.
Visit smile.amazon.com
Sign in with the same account you use for Amazon.com
Select your charity
Start shopping!
Remember to checkout at smile.amazon.com to generate donations for your chosen charity.
Did You Know – that the light rail has two stops that are less than a 10 minute walk from the Orpheum. Whether you’re coming from the East Valley or from Northwest Phoenix, taking the train allows you to avoid traffic as well as the cost of parking your car.
Board of Directors
David Stevenson, Luis Ruiz, Linda Hamm, Laura Stenzel, Anne-Marie Sittenfeld, Patty Dunlap, Alison Sipes, Nader Abushab, Raymond Combe
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