SRO Theatre Company to Produce Documentary to Chronicle Life of Johnnie Schmidt

SRO Theatre Company is proud to announce its plans to produce a documentary film on John Schmidt, a 95-year-old former member of the company whose life experiences include performing on Broadway, pole vaulting at OSU, WWII, frequent appearances on WOSU radio and television, being inducted into the OSU Sports Hall of Fame, and managing his Schmidt family tree farm in Bainbridge, Ohio. SRO is using the crowd-funding platform GoFundMe to finance My Name is Johnnie Schmidt, the Working Title of the project, which will include a wealth of information on John's life based on interviews with the still-vibrant senior and Upper Arlington native, as well as rarely-seen footage and photos of his notable life and career. Our goal is to premiere the finished work in the fall.

"When I joined SRO in 2016, I wanted to meet and interview as many of the surviving former members of the company as I could," says SRO Theatre Company President Chuck Pennington III, who is producing the project. "What started as a plan to document the history of the company evolved into one focused on John Schmidt's remarkable life and work, which improbably includes pole vaulting, Broadway, and tree farming! It was vital to me to share his story as widely as possible - not only to honor him but to honor the founding principles and the legacy of SRO Theatre Company."

"I'm so glad that at this stage I can look back on my life and share my experiences with others," says John, often nicknamed "Johnnie" or "Johnny" in OSU's student newspaper, The Lantern, where stories announcing his latest track and field victories or radio and stage appearances frequently appeared from 1939-1945. It is this sharing of life experiences, especially those of seniors, which informed the founding of SRO over three decades ago.

Working in conjunction with WOSU-TV and The Ohio State University archives, as well as cataloging and preserving John's personal collection of films, slides, and scrapbooks, SRO President Chuck Pennington has already unearthed television appearances from sixty years ago by John and Mary Schmidt on their musical program "Songs for a Summer Evening" (1956-1960) and John's children's program, "Kids' Stuff" (1962). "John and I keep finding more treasures all the time, from photos on tour with Burl Ives in Paint Your Wagon in the early 1950s to film projects he shot and produced for OSU many decades ago. It's hard to believe he is 95 years old when I listen to stories he tells as if they occurred only yesterday. His insight into the golden age of Broadway, the early years of television broadcasting, and the evolution of pole vaulting as a sport appeal to a wide range of people; it's important that this information be preserved."

Born into a family of tree farmers in 1922, John worked on the family farm while cultivating his pole vaulting skills and singing ability through high school. Upon graduating from Upper Arlington High School in 1939, John enrolled at The Ohio State University, frequently performing on WOSU radio when he wasn't competing for the track team or performing on the stage at the Hartman Theatre. His education was interrupted by a stint in World War II, but he returned to OSU to win the 1944 National Collegiate Championship for pole vaulting. John next traveled to New York in 1945 on a scholarship from the Metropolitan Opera; within months he was cast in his first of four Broadway shows. John put his baritone to use in the original Broadway productions of Polonaise (1945), Brigadoon (1947), Out of This World (1950), and Paint Your Wagon (1951), working with such theatre legends as Alan Jay Lerner, Frederick Lowe, Agnes DeMille, Cole Porter, Burl Ives, and Charlotte Greenwood. In 1948, John Married fellow performer Mary Woiceske , whose own considerable theatre credits include Annie Get Your Gun (1946-1948) with Ethel Merman and vocal doubling for Helen Hayes from the wings in Happy Birthday (1947-1948).

John returned to Ohio to help get WOSU-TV on the air in 1956 as Director of Special Projects. He appeared in dozens of different television series over the next six years, ranging from sports to music, news, and children's programs. His experience in television and agriculture prepared him for his next career, beginning in 1963, as OSU's Agricultural Extension producer of educational films, filming, editing, narrating, and appearing in hundreds of films over the next 20 years. His retirement in 1983 allowed him to focus on his family tree farm, garnering John and Mary awards for Outstanding Ohio Tree Farmers of 1988 and National Tree Farmers of the Year in 1989; they even met then-president George H. W. Bush due to their efforts managing their sustainable tree farm.

Encouraged by his older sister Birdie (herself a member of the company since 1988), John and Mary Schmidt joined what was then Grandparents Living Theatre in 1991 as performers in the company's signature show, I Was Young... Now I'm Wonderful! Inducted into OSU's Sports Hall of Fame in 1998, John continued to perform in theatrical productions as well as appear in commercials into the next century. Now entering his ninety-sixth year and full of stories about his life and career, John Schmidt will have his life chronicled be in the first of what SRO Theatre Company hopes may be a continuing series on documenting the fascinating lives of Ohio natives.

"We're using GoFundMe to allow the public to play a part in supporting the theatre company and this documentary project," says Chuck Pennington, whose Tuesdays are often spent interviewing John and helping him go through his memorabilia. "We at SRO believe that there are people all over the country who will enjoy learning of John's incredible life, we know that many who believe in the value of listening to and preserving the stories of our elders will want to play a part in helping to make this project happen." Information on the documentary, including a promotional video as well as how to donate funds to support it, can be found at https://www.gofundme.com/SRO-THEATRE and http://www.SROTheatre.org.

ABOUT SRO THEATRE COMPANY

Founded in 1984 by OSU professor Joy Reilly and known previously as Grandparents Living Theatre and Senior Repertory of Ohio, SRO Theatre Company is a non-profit committed to producing both classic and contemporary works that break cultural and generational boundaries. Originally a theatre company for seniors, SRO has expanded its mission to produce works with intergenerational appeal in casting and story. The company has performed in Las Vegas, Nevada; Orlando, Florida; and Cologne, Germany, as well as toured throughout Ohio, garnering international acclaim for the quality of its productions as well as its mission to dispel myths about aging.

SRO Theatre Company's 32nd season continues with the Columbus premiere of Jason Robert Brown's musical The Bridges of Madison County (April 28-May 7) and concludes with the hilarious The 39 Steps (June 9-18), both at the Columbus Performing Arts Center.

To post a comment, you must register and login.