Renaissance Performing Arts Theatre

The Renaissance Theatre opened as a movie palace in 1928 and is now an exciting performing arts center dedicated to providing world class entertainment and arts education programs to the people of Richland County and beyond. Presenting over 200 events per year, the theatre is home to the Mansfield Symphony, Neos Dance Theatre and the Miss Ohio Scholarship Program. Having recently completed a 5 million dollar expansion and renovation project, the theatre now offers the best in patron amenities with new restroom facilities, a modern two story atrium lobby, and an elevator, which offers complete handicapped accessibility. The theatre presents the Mansfield Symphony, the latest national Broadway Tours, local Broadway productions, a full slate of concerts in every genre, comedy shows, and original works. Guests are invited for backstage tours. The theatre is available for rentals, weddings and receptions. Visit www.mansfieldtickets.com for a complete list of events

Box office Hours: Tues-Friday, 10AM-5PM

 HAUNTED MANSFIELD OHIO

Patrons and employees alike have reported many ghostly encounters over the years. Footsteps have been heard on the elegant grand staircase and along the dark hallways and twisting corridors outside the second floor grand ballroom. Spectral figures have been spotted in the balcony. Disembodied voices, laughter and even music have been heard coming from the theatre – long after the audiences have gone. The projection booth is the purported haunt of “Pete” – who took up residence at the Renaissance shortly after his beloved projector was transplanted here from the demolished Madison Theatre down the street. The wall sconces in the elegant marbled grand salon in the lower lobby are said to have a mind of their own and, when the building is unlocked in the morning, are often found turned completely upside-down. Whispered voices have been heard in their catacomb-like rooms under the stage – and on more than one occasion, actors and crew members have seen a shadowy “woman in white” standing in the wings during a performance. Perhaps the most haunted area of the theatre, however, is the lobby, which was where theatre manager Edward Rafter was murdered in a botched robbery attempt on the night of Oct. 30th, 1929. A man, disguised in women’s clothing, shot Rafter four times and then fled into the night. For over eighty years, witnesses have reported seeing a forlorn Rafter pacing back and forth along the marble floor – and some have even seen the ghost of his assailant, hiding menacingly in the darkest corner of the lobby.

Haunted Testimonials
“We were standing by the front of the stage and I looked up and saw a man standing along the back wall of the balcony. My friend yelled ‘We need to lock up, you’ll have to leave.’ – and the man just stood there. We shouted ‘Excuse me, but we have to lock up now, so you’re going to have to go”, and with that, the man seemed to float down the aisle towards the balcony rail, disappearing into thin air as moved. We both looked at each other and then raced each other for the door.”

“I was walking down the long, dark hallway that runs alongside the grand ballroom, when I saw a man in a tan suit emerge from the men’s restroom on the second floor. He stopped when he saw me and appeared to be lost, so I asked him if he needed help – and with that he put on his hat and was gone. He just suddenly wasn’t there.”

“We were getting ready to make our entrance on stage when we looked across to the stage left wings. ‘Who is that woman in the white dress,” I asked the girl beside me, ‘and what is she doing backstage during the show?’. My friend saw her too - in fact we both commented later on the elegant full length lace dress she was wearing and how there seemed to be a veil of some sort over her face. We watched her for about 30 seconds or so and the next thing we knew she disappeared.”

“I was running one of the follow spots in the loft located adjacent to the projection room at the rear of the balcony. Because the space is so close to the heating ducts and pipes, the tiny, claustrophobic room is usually really hot – but for some reason it grew suddenly icy cold. It felt like someone was looking over my shoulder. All of a sudden, I felt a cold, clammy hand on my arm. I let out a gasp and jumped up and at the same exact second, the light bulb hanging from the ceiling, burned out. I didn’t even grab my stuff, I just tore out of there and made the stage manager go in and get my things later.”

“On many occasions, cast and orchestra members have reported seeing someone peering at them through the small windows of the projection booth. ‘That’s Pete,’ I always tell them. Pete was the projectionist in the old Madison Theatre that they tore down. He moved into the Renaissance when we purchased his old projector. Pete has also been known to chase people out of the balcony. One late night I recall hearing him run up behind me as I was leaving the projection booth. I didn’t turn around but just said ‘Okay, Pete, I’m leaving!”

“At least 25 times since I’ve worked there, I’ve come into the theatre in the morning to find the wall sconces turned completely upside-down.”

“We were locking up one night and turning off the lights in the outer lobby when we saw what looked like a man watching us from behind the closed inner lobby doors. I yelled to my friend that we’d locked someone inside the theatre. I could see him moving back and forth behind the glass doors that led to the grand staircase. When my friend got there, we unlocked the door and there was no one there. My friend said ‘Oh, that was probably Edward. This is where his office used to be and this is the spot where he was murdered.’ Back in the 20s, Edward was the manager and was shot during a robbery attempt. He died two days later. Over the years people say they see him all the time, standing at the back of the auditorium during shows – or floating sadly around the spot where he fell, over 80 years ago.”

If you have a group interested in touring the Renaissance Theatre for paranormal activity, contact Ellis Byrd, Project Manager of Haunted Mansfield Ohio, for more information at 740-972-5400 or goali41_2000@yahoo.com.

 SHAWSHANK TRAIL

Sit in the very seats where the premier of The Shawshank Redemption was shown on Tuesday, September 13, 1994 at the Historic Renaissance Theatre.

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