ANN ARBOR, MI — Russ Collins says he has hundreds of favorite memories from the 42 years he spent at the helm of the Michigan Theater in downtown Ann Arbor.
“It’s when you get transported by a movie or a show,” he said. “David Byrne has done several concerts here and they’re amazing. Bob Dylan actually did a really great show, and his movie is now playing at the State Theatre.”
The Michigan Theater also did a lot of live-on-stage performance art in the 1980s and ‘90s and that was a really interesting era, Collins said, speaking from the stage at his retirement sendoff on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 5.
Hundreds of community members came out for a special “bon voyage” event to celebrate both Collins, Marquee Arts outgoing executive director and CEO, and his wife, Deb Polich, Artrain and Creative Washtenaw outgoing president and CEO.
They’re starting their retirement journey with a trip on a ship around the world.
“Tomorrow we leave for a four-month trip and we’re pretty darn excited about it,” Collins said, adding they will miss the community and their three children and eight grandchildren while they’re away.
Husband-and-wife known for their roles in Ann Arbor’s art scene will retire
Sunday’s event marked the 97th anniversary of the Michigan Theater, which opened Jan. 5, 1928. Collins stepped in to lead it in 1982 after it was set up as a community nonprofit, now called Marquee Arts, which also oversees the State Theatre.
A screening of Charlie Chaplin’s silent comedy film “The Circus” was shown Sunday with musician Andrew Rogers playing the theater’s Barton organ, ahead of a post-film reception with Collins and Polich. Collins noted the film premiered in New York City the day after the Michigan Theater opened in 1928.
“We’ve done this film twice with orchestra, and Deb was working here when we did that,” Collins said, saying they’re both enthusiastic about the Academy Award-winning film, especially accompanied with live music.
“We’re very, very proud to celebrate silent films here at the Michigan Theater because that’s what it was built to do is silent films — and vaudeville, consequently live theater, and all the other things we do here at the Michigan Theater,” he said.
It was custom during the silent film era to boo and hiss at the bad guys and cheer and clap for the good guys, and occasionally make wise remarks, Collins told Sunday’s audience members, who adhered to the tradition.
Collins also introduced Molly Rowan-Deckart as his successor at Sunday’s event, saying he’s confident the Michigan and State theaters are in good hands with her leading Marquee Arts, carefully vetted from a pool of over 150 applicants. She previously led the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers, Florida, and the Boise Film Foundation in Idaho.
“You can tell how loved this organization is, how beautifully you’ve crafted it and restored it,” Rowan-Deckart said, describing Collins as an incredible, visionary leader who will be missed. “I’m very excited to join this wonderful community.”
Collins thanked the Michigan Theater’s staff, saying it’s an International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees union house with a lot of great employees who have given the theater a lot of love and care over the years. That included his first wife, Julia Broxholm, a talented singer and actress who devoted a lot of time to the theater, he said.
Sunday’s event was really special with so many former staff members and friends there, said Polich, who was managing director of the Michigan Theater Foundation from 1987 to 1993 before going on to lead Artrain and eventually Creative Washtenaw, formerly known as The Arts Alliance.
Community members lined up to shake hands with Collins and Polich and thank them for their dedication to the arts.
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