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Exterior watercolor rendering of the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center located on Main Street in Old Saybrook.
Bob and Anne Czepiel Give $100,000 to Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center
The curtain’s not ready to go up yet at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, but opening night will be in 2009.
Several years ago voters in Old Saybrook approved spending money to renovate the building on Main Street known as the “Old Town Hall.” Originally built in 1911 as a theater, the structure housed town offices for many years.
 In restoring the building back to its original use, Old Saybrook also wished to honor its most famous resident by naming the center for the legendary actress Katharine Hepburn, pictued right. When it opens, the 250-seat theater will also include an alcove where Hepburn memorabilia will be displayed.
And in the tradition of the theater, some “angels” recently lent support to the fundraising effort. Old Saybrook residents Bob and Anne Czepiel (pronounced See-pe-al) have donated $100,000 to the theater. Bob explained that the money “is given in the spirit of a challenge” and that he hopes “to try and jog other contributors.”
With this most recent gift, the board of trustees of “The Kate,” as the theater has been informally dubbed, has raised more than $1.4 million. The goal is to reach $1.7 million.
Both Bob and Anne have deep personal ties to the town of Old Saybrook. Bob grew up in Deep River and spent his summers working at Harbor One Marina in Old Saybrook. Anne’s family (from Manchester) docked their boat at that marina and that is how the two met.
After college, Bob became a securities analyst on Wall Street. He and Anne lived in Fairfield County during those years. But after Bob retired in 1995, they chose to make their home in Old Saybrook. Today they live in a house overlooking the Connecticut River not far from where they first met.
But to say that Bob is “retired” is misleading. He may have left the world of high finance, but he has developed new talents and is very active in the community. He has become an accomplished photographer as well as a documentary filmmaker.
While on the board of the Old Saybrook Historical Society, he produced, directed, and wrote the script for “17 Miles: Old Saybrook, the Birthplace of the Connecticut River Valley.” The 40-minute film, narrated by Morley Safer, traced the history of the town from its founding in 1635 to its present-day status as a commercial and tourism center of the lower Connecticut River Valley.
Anne is a familiar sight across the river in Old Lyme. She is a docent at the Florence Griswold Museum where she tells the story of the Lyme Art Colony to visitors. When she’s not in Miss Florence’s house, you can find her working on the museum’s grounds as a member of the “garden gang.”
 Bob sees the new theater as part of the “revitalization” of Old Saybrook. He points out that the town is a commercial hub of the area, but that it doesn’t have “a Florence Griswold Museum [like Old Lyme] or a Connecticut River Museum” [like Essex.] He added that it would be a great asset for Old Saybrook to have “a real cultural center as such.”
And the events planned for “The Kate” will run the gamut “from black-tie to blue jeans,” according to Bob. Of course, there will be theatrical performances. But there are also plans for a summer theater camp for children, film screenings, and cabaret nights.
In fact, it sounds like the new center will be much like the old theater. From 1911 until the late 1920s, Bob described the building as, “A beehive of activity with plays, minstrel shows, dances, and suppers.” For a brief period of time, such theatrical luminaries as Ethel Barrymore and Norma Terris performed on its stage.
So the building was truly “a hall for the town” before it was turned into municipal town offices by the middle of the 20th century. The photo above left shows singers from Old Saybrook High School performing on the steps of the former town hall and now future theater during the December 2008 Saybrook Stroll.
Bob is also making a film about the building itself. Doing research, he has discovered that there is no definitive account of its rich history. His documentary will now tell that story. And, no doubt, will have its world première at the new Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center!
Editor’s Note: The Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center will have a “soft opening” in the early summer of 2009. The gala opening is planned for October of 2009. For more information and updates on the construction of the theater, visit www.katharinehepburntheater.org |
