If you participated in a show at the WYO Theater many years ago or more recently worked with the production team of the annual High School Musical, you’ll likely recognize Pat Trout. She has remained a fixture of the local arts scene for years — both as an artist whose work has hung in galleries in the region in and in scenic construction and artistry for local productions.
Trout’s newest project, though, feels a bit more like an archaeological dig than the creative pursuits she’s used to completing. She must work carefully not to damage the artifact, striving to uncover history without hurting it.
Rather than a dinosaur skeleton or other fossil, Trout has worked for five months to uncover a mural found behind the walls of our downtown theater.
The WYO, known as The Lotus at the time, had murals on its walls in the 1920s that boasted tropical themes with big, brightly colored plants. In 1935, the theater’s interior was redesigned to look more like a log cabin with western art, what we assume was an appeal to those traveling west to visit dude ranches.
After a fire in 1941, the theater took on the art deco style for which it’s known today. But as construction projects have changed the spaces in the theater, the murals were covered up with new walls or destroyed.
We’re lucky in that a portion of one mural remains visible (minus the drywall mud and cement) in the stairwell into the men’s restroom accessible from the lobby. The other, Trout’s current project, includes a mural located on the wall as you head upstairs to the balcony.
The mural reveals a glimpse into two different eras at our downtown theater. The background of the 2.5-by-4-foot painting — only a portion of the full mural that remains hidden behind walls — has a red bird and plants evocative of The Lotus’ original décor. On top of the tropical setting is a bird that boasts more of a southwestern feel.
The mural is the closest thing we have to understand what the interior of the theater looked in its different iterations, in particular the early Lotus days, since we don’t know of any existing photos of the space from that time.
I felt inspired to protect this piece of history, and knew Trout would be the perfect partner in the endeavor.
As a result, she’s been working a few days each week to clean up the murals. She has removed contemporary paint and repaired water damage, also filling in areas where the paint was removed. Otherwise, though, the murals look just as they did when uncovered.
The historic paint is there — blemishes, speckles and all. It’s unique in that it makes the history of the theater visible, rather than restoring the mural to what it would have looked like in its heyday.
Trout isn’t quite done with the work, and she’ll be working over the coming weeks with cotton balls and Q-tips to continue removing layers of additional paint.
Next time you’re in the WYO, perhaps for a show during our2024-2025 season, check it out. You’ll get a peek into history.
Erin Butler is the executive director of the WYO Performing Arts and Education Center.
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