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Paramount rolls out red carpet for Judd
Ashley Judd visits the Paramount in Ashland, Ky., for "Opening Night with Ashley Judd" on Friday, September 5, 2008.
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ASHLAND -- The Paramount Performing Arts Center is again a place to see the movie stars on screen and with the appearance of Ashley Judd Friday, a few lucky residents were able to see a star off of the screen.
Aptly titled "Opening Night With Ashley Judd," the event drew a crowd of local residents hoping to catch a glimpse of Ashland's homegrown starlet.
"These theaters hold so much history about your industry and our society. I think it is wonderful the work that has gone into restoring this lustrous theater," Judd told the crowd.
"When the theater first opened in Ashland, it was a grand event. It was a really big deal. That was on September 5, 1931," said Tyson Compton, the marketing director for the Paramount Arts Center and producer of the opening event. "It operated as a theater until 1972 when it was closed. Movies couldn't be shown after that because it was a performing arts center."
After more than three decades, with the help of some new technology, the theater was able to once again open it's doors to films.
"We got some funding for a retractable screen, and now the Paramount is showing movies again. Ashley was on board from the beginning, but she only had one date available which happened to be September 5. It was perfect," Compton said.
The event was split into three acts each with different themes.
The first act, "The Way We Were" was a dining celebration with a classic theme and outfits to match. Guests took the stage for a catered fine dining experience. Judd was scheduled to speak, but showed up later because of scheduling conflicts.
Jim Powers, a retired library director at the Boyd County Library said he remembered when Judd would check out books. He was able to meet her again when she arrived to greet the guests.
"She told me she remembered coming and checking out Gerald. That's F. Scott Fitzgerald, she remembered," Powers said.
The second act, "Changing" introduced the movie the guests would be treated to, "It Happened One Night." Judd started the introduction by asking how many people remembered her grandmother and grandfather, to which many in the crowd responded.
The movie "It Happened One Night" stars Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. The movie was chosen by Judd. The movie is a romantic comedy from the same era of the early days of the Paramount.
The event concluded with the third act, which featured dancing to the music from the movies.
Judd said she believes the arts are very important in a community and supporting the work the Paramount does was very important to her.
"Being given the opportunity to support a performing arts center is sadly, pretty rare. My mom and dad remember the Paramount and the Capitol. My mom used to tell me all about walking to the theater when she was a kid," Judd said.
Many of the patrons visiting the event remember seeing their very first film at the Paramount. Guests recalled seeing Bambi, The Swiss Family Robinson, Herbie the Love Bug and numerous films.
"Our plans are open, we will never run first-run films, but we will have film festivals," Compton said. "We have one lined up now . We will have other events like this where we can run other classic films."
Despite some struggles, most of the event went on as planned.
"We only had four weeks to plan this after Judd told us she was on board, but it was that perfect date," Compton said. "We also dealt with flooding in the back stage area. It destroyed our banquet area and our dressing rooms. It seems no matter what happened we were able to overcome it. It feels like it was fate to reopen the Paramount."
