Author: Daniel Meyers

The Glove Theatre, over a century old and a hidden treasure in downtown Gloversville, has recently reopened for performances, bringing music and movies together in the coming weeks.

Designed in 1913 by Linn Kinne of Utica for Cady & Dartch, wtih a marquee added in 1939, the 800-seat Glove Theatre has historically shows an array of performances, including vaudeville, concerts, and movies, and was, during the 1950s, one of the largest theater venues in Fulton and Montgomery Counties. Since 1995, the theater has been maintained by a local group of volunteers and most recently, The Glove has hosted performances from artists such as Sawyer Fredricks and Beatle Mania.

After a 10-year absence, rock band Flame will perform at The Glove in celebration of Autism Awareness Month and the band’s 20th anniversary, on Saturday, April 15.

Flame will take The Glove Theatre Mainstage for a special one-night-only performance, but the rest of April will be a busy month for the band. Throughout the rest of April, after The Glove Theatre show, Flame will perform at Schenectady High School, West Sand Lake Elementary, and SUNY Cobleskill.

Formed in 2003, Flame consists of Nick Robinson, Andrew Carpenter, Adrienne Phillips, David LaGrange, Joseph Magliocca, Karl Blanchard, Shawn Lehr, Michelle King, and Debbie Woodruff. The global cover band performs the hit favorites of today plus the classics and initially gained notoriety after appearances on Good Morning America in 2009, and in People Magazine in 2013.

Made up entirely of disabled musicians, Flame has played to sold-out shows across the world, at venues such as the Rock-N-Roll Hall of Fame, the House of Blues, to Athens, Greece, and Carpi, Italy, and they are billed as “Your Hometown World-Famous Band.”

Flame is a part of the Arc/Lexington outreach program, which has said of the band: “These musicians connect with people of all ages and backgrounds like no other, from singing children to dancing executives. They give parents of children with disabilities hope that it is possible to have their own child achieve great things, and even more importantly, have a fun and fulfilling life like those in the band. Their success has helped change perceptions of those with disabilities as well as increased awareness and acceptance of people of all kinds “putting the ability into disability”.  

Then on April 19, The Glove Theatre will present a film screening of Nobody’s Fool, an adaption of the book of the same name by Fulton County Native and Pulitzer Award Winning Author Richard Russo, at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. as part of an ongoing Love The Glove Film Series, sponsored by the Perrott, Peck, and Blackmon Families.

Nobody’s Foul was written in 1993 and became the first of Russo’s novels to be made into a film adaption in 1994, with a sequel, Everybody’s Fool, following in 2016. Similarly, the April 19 event at The Glove Theatre will be the first film screening for Nobody’s Fool. The film adaption stars Paul Newman as Donald “Sully” Sullivan, Jessica Tandy as Beryl Peoples in her final role before her death, Bruce Willis as Carl Roebuck, Melanie Griffith as Toby Roebuck, and an up-and-coming Upstate New York Native Phillip Seymour Hoffman as Officer Raymer. It was Paramount’s last production before being sold to Viacom the same year. Newman received considerable praise for his role, winning Best Actor at the 45th Berlin International Film Festival, the 29th National Society of Film Critics Awards, and the 60th New York Film Critics Circle Awards.

Nobody’s Fool is set in the fictional community of North Bath, based on the Saratoga County city of Ballston Spa, just east of Gloversville, where Russo grew up. In the book and movie’s narrative, North Bath is overshadowed by the neighboring Schuyler Springs, based on Saratoga Springs, which has historically overshadowed Ballston Spa. Fulton County was considered for filming locations, but the film ended up being shot in the Hudson Valley, near Beacon, Poughkeepsie, Kingston, and Hudson.

Upon hearing about the screening, Russo said, “I am very excited for my film to be screened at the Glove Theatre, having watched so many movies there in my youth.” Russo Russo used his notoriety previously to help the Gloversville Public Library (a Carnegie Library) with their 2015 Capital Campaign. To honor his literary legacy to the community, Trustees, and staff of the library will be available to sign members up for a library card at both free screenings of this beloved film.

Tickets for The Glove Theatre celebration of Flame are available at Flame’s and The Glove Theatre’s websites, or by calling the theatre at 518.752.4611, and the film screening of Nobody’s Fool is free.