ENTERPRISE — The show must go on.

That’s Darrell Brann’s intention and his plan is to reopen Enterprise’s historic OK Theatre next spring.

Right now, the building’s façade is covered with scaffolding in anticipation of its restoration this week.

“I’ve had people ask, ‘Are you tearing it down?’ Well, we’re tearing it back to the good stuff and then rebuilding from there,” Brann said.

Inside, much of the theater has been gutted in preparation for other work, such as retail spaces, a bar, remodeling the foyer and a green room — the place where performers prepare before coming on stage.

“Ours was yellow,” Brann said of the old green room.

He said there also are plans to replace some sagging ceiling joists and he hopes to even add a kitchen.

Grants, donations helped

Brann said both grants and donations have helped fund the work.

“We were awarded a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office of $85,000. I haven’t done any fundraising,” he said. “We were super happy to have it, but it doesn’t take you as far as you’d like. A lot of theater owners, they’re spending millions. With all the help we’ve had from the community, as far as labor, it’s been an amazing thing. But we long for the day when we can be open and full and people can have a good time in here like they used to.”

Already, through grants and donations, the heating system has been upgraded, as has the electrical wiring. More decorative items also have been added, such as two opera boxes and the proscenium — the arch that creates a “window” around the scenery and performers.

Brann said he also received help from Restore Oregon, which has a mission to preserve, reuse and pass forward historic places.

The theater was originally built in 1918. In those days, it was where you’d go to see a silent film with Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin or maybe Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford. Unlike some in the late 1920s, the theater was equipped to accommodate the new “talkies” and kept showing films until 2013, when everything went digital.

“One of the main reasons the previous owners were getting out of it was that 2013 was the last year you could get reel film, and all the theater had was 32 mm. That equipment was fast becoming obsolete,” Brann said. “You could still get it, but it was tough.”

He said the estimated $100,000 to convert to digital was beyond the reach of the previous owners — or him.

Musical family

“For me, it was a perfect step for the theater for us. … We thought what could we do? So in 2011, was the first show I booked at the OK Theatre” before it was for sale, he said. “I was just a local citizen, I have a construction company, I play music and grew up with music, I play a lot of gigs around here locally. … I play guitar — blues, rock and folk. My wife (Christin) and I will do duos, country and folk. She’s a singer and a pianist, but she always sang harmony with me primarily. We do a lot of weddings and things like that and our kids all got into it.”

Of their five kids, the oldest, Meredith, who just turned 20, already has recorded two albums. The most recent was recorded at the OK and released just a couple weeks ago.

Like today, when the OK first opened, the world was then in the midst of a deadly pandemic — the 1918 influenza pandemic — and was not allowed to open until early 1919.

The OK was forced to shut down again in March 2020, when the coronavirus struck. But that didn’t stop Brann.

“Given our situation here, we’ve always had to sell every seat to make it work,” he said. “We decided to take advantage of the forced down time to start remodeling.”

In the meantime, he’s gotten back to booking shows for the coming year.

“It will be open, but whether or not we get enough funds to really finish the bar” and other elements, he’s still not sure.

“People should look forward to potential shows … I don’t want to do it in the thick of construction, but maybe by early spring we’ll have a show. We’ll see what we can pull off,” he said. “In our family, we’re hoping to do something for the community in gratitude for all the help we’ve had on the theater, the work days.”

Who: Darrell and Christin Brann

What: Send check to OK Theatre

Where: 306 S.E. Second St., Enterprise, OR 97828

Email: oktheater1@gmail.com