When the theater was almost empty, Junnie Nichols got up from her cushioned chair in the front row and walked to the edge of the stage.
Her eyes narrowed as she took in the breadth of the 170-seat space before her. The small space, with its deep scarlet walls, dainty glass chandeliers and plush seats, looked grand for its final production.
The Palace Theatre of Brown County in Nashville, Ind., came to an end on Dec. 22 with its final performance, “Believe: A Brown County Christmas.” The productions and the community had been a big part of 62-year-old Nichols’ life for the past 17 years. As she sat alone in the cool darkness of the theater, she said her goodbyes.
“I saw the first and last shows performed in that theater,” Nichols said. “Several things were going through my mind — nostalgia, emptiness, sadness, happiness and thankfulness.”
For her, it was the end of an era.
* * *
The Coachlight Musical Theatre was purchased by Golden Ticket Productions in 2008 and renamed the Palace two years later.
“We thought it was funny, kind of a joke,” said Brad Zumwalt, one of Golden Ticket’s three owners. “It’s like the ‘Palace’ in Nashville.”
Nashville is the county seat of Brown County and, according to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau profile data, home to 803 people, a community in which 59.7 is the median age.
Due to an influx of artists in the early 1900s and the high number of artists in residence in the modern day, the town has been deemed “The Art Colony of the Midwest” and relies heavily on tourism to survive economically. Earlier this year, Nashville, along with Columbus, Ind., was designated an Indiana Statewide Cultural District.
“Everything in Brown County depends on the tourists,” said Zumwalt, who sits on the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau board of directors. “The thing is, Brown County is very isolated, and it’s not ever going to stand on its own. It needs the tourists to survive.”
Zumwalt and his two Golden Ticket business partners, performers Russell Moss and Julie Powers, were attracted to the way tourists provided them with a broad demographic, an ever-changing pool of potential audience members.
But a flailing national economy meant fewer visitors and insufficient business. Golden Ticket decided early on to keep the average ticket price for all their shows at $16.50.
With a 170-seat space and opening hours confined to Fridays and Saturdays most weeks of the year, sales were not enough to keep up with costs.
“Try making rent being open eight days a month,” Zumwalt said.
The decision to shut down the Palace was made during the summer.
To Moss, Powers and Zumwalt, it is the closing of one chapter and the start of a new one.
“At the end of the day, we’re a production company,” Zumwalt said. “Selling your shows to other theaters that will perform them — that’s kind of a production company’s dream.”
* * *
“Daggon’ it!” 15-year-old Elley Roberts said, swiveling the stool to face her mother behind the glass counter in Reynolds Leather and Gifts. “I haven’t seen Johnny Cash yet, or Elvis!”
They had just heard about the Palace’s closing night. Roberts’ mother, Jennifer Crutchett, was looking out the store window to the cluster of low buildings collectively named Coachlight Square.
The Palace was one of five businesses housed in those buildings. Throughout the years, three of these businesses, including the Holy Cow Steakhouse and Grill, have closed down. With the Palace’s departure, Chateau Thomas Winery would be the only one left standing.
“So many businesses open and close around here,” Nashville’s Town Superintendent Roger Bush said.
Bush mentioned the differences between short-term and long-term businesses, with the latter staying to weather the lulls in tourism year-round. But with the state of the economy, more businesses like these have been affected.
Nashville is known for its small-town charm, a quality the town council depends on to attract visitors.
Quaint stores — from those selling handmade candles and glass objects to an eclectic general store crammed with all sorts of trinkets — line the village district. Focus is placed on the village district because it is pedestrian-driven in nature, Bush said. Walking along the sidewalks, instead of driving down the roads, puts visitors up close and personal with the town’s attractions.
However, branches of national chains like CVS, McDonald’s and Comfort Inn are peppered around Nashville, causing members of the community like Zumwalt and Crutchett to question the council’s seriousness in maintaining the small-town environment.
“As long as anybody here ends up complying with the aesthetics that are required by the DRC, anybody is able to construct anything,” Bush said.
* * *
Twice a week since Thanksgiving, Nichols, a Trafalgar, Ind. native, would meet her friend Beth Wallis, a Martinsville resident, in Morgantown, Ind. The two would travel to Nashville together, where they would have dinner before enjoying a staging of “Believe” at the Palace. Both held season tickets and never missed a show throughout the five weeks to Christmas.
“So we support the Nashville economy quite well,” Wallis said, laughing.
While Nichols favored the upbeat Christmas song medley named the “Santa Mashup” at the beginning of each show, Wallis thought the 'Phantom of the Opera' segment was phenomenal.
Cast favorites, the “Phantom of the Opera” and Eydie Gormé and Steve Lawrence segments, which otherwise would not belong in a Christmas music show, were added to the final run of “Believe.”
“Going forward, we’re right where we want to be,” Zumwalt said. “If everything goes right, we’re probably going to be busier in 2013 than we were even in 2012.”
Golden Ticket’s future plans include performances at the Brown County Playhouse in Nashville, less than a mile from the Palace. Popular production “Seriously Sinatra,” led by Moss, will be staged over three weeks in August and September this year.
Zumwalt is aware of plans for a new business to move into the space once occupied by the Palace — a change in line with Nashville’s development plans.
The town has been taking a more active part in economic development, Bush said.
Additionally, a redevelopment commission and Tax Increment Financing district — a tool to aid in infrastructure installation and business set-up — were formed last year. Authorities are currently in discussion to create a waterfront district.
“In order for the town to stay alive, you sometimes have to be proactive,” Bush said. “And that’s what we’re doing.”
* * *
Moss and Powers ran up onto the stage. “Believe” had wrapped up close to an hour before, but they couldn’t resist an impromptu performance, their last on that stage. Green laser lights shone from over their heads and mesmerized those watching.
“Trains move quickly to their journey’s end.
“Destinations are where we begin again.”
It was the song “Believe” from “The Polar Express,” the one they used to close every staging of their production “Believe.” Nichols and Wallis stood transfixed, their eyes sparkling along with the laser lights.
Martinsville resident Lew Herold, another Palace regular, chuckled.
“These shows have been my weekly fix,” he said. “Whenever I’m sad or down a little bit, I come here and I’m happy for a week.”
That last night, long after the music and applause had died down, champagne continued to flow and homemade desserts continued to be passed around within the warmth of the Palace’s lobby. The very next day, show signs were taken down and boxed away. The courtyard would remain eerily silent, save for the humming of a nearby air-conditioning outlet.
Nichols’ regular seat, No. 6, would be removed. She saw a picture of the seat’s bare spot on Facebook and found it difficult to bear.
“I started to tear up tonight, and I’ve been here a couple of weeks,” said Hannah Elizabeth, one of five performers in “Believe.” “You know, theater’s very strange — you can feel a vibe and energy when you go into a theater. Well, tonight there was a lot of sadness, but also excitement.”
As they sang their final tune, Powers reached out an arm and snapped an iPhone photo of her and Moss. He dipped her low and kissed her on the lips, then held her hand as the pair took a bow.
“I think with everything, every year new things come in, old things go out,” Zumwalt said. “And I think that’s a good thing.”
