The Princess Theatre

Article by April Honaker
Photography by Prajal Prasai

With a population of roughly 5,000, Winnsboro, La., is the quintessential small, southern town. In fact, Louisiana Travel has called it the closest thing to Mayberry in Louisiana. One of the keys to maintaining that small-town feel is preserving its history, even as the world changes around it. 

Located at 714 Prairie St., the Princess Theatre is part of that history. For over 100 years the Princess has served as the lifeblood of downtown Winnsboro. Operations Manager Amy Thornhill said the location would have been the main gathering point for downtown when the theatre was built and for much of its history. With the exception of two brief periods of closure, the Princess has been a hub of reliable entertainment in various forms for residents and visitors since its doors first opened in 1912. 

At that time, the theatre was a vaudeville house. By introducing this new form of entertainment to the region, the Princess drew patrons from throughout northeast Louisiana. Vaudeville was a type of variety entertainment that originated in France in the late 1800s. The typical North American vaudeville show comprised several distinct acts on a shared bill. 

Although the acts tended to lack an overarching story or theme, they kept ticket holders coming back. With everything from musicians, singers, comedians, and dancers, to trained animals, magicians, ventriloquists, and jugglers, vaudeville dominated the world of show business in North American and in Winnsboro well into the 1920s. 

Then, in 1925, silent movies made their way to Winnsboro and onto screens at the Princess, where a hired pianist infused life into their stories. At the time, silent movies were considered cutting-edge technology. They were in vogue across the country, and people were excited once again to see a new form of entertainment reach their small town.

For the next several decades, the Princess continued to evolve with her patrons and eventually showed sound films, which kept the seats filled and doors open for several decades. In fact, Thornhill said she remembers seeing the original “Star Wars” at the theatre with her dad when she was a kid.  

The Princess functioned successfully as a movie theatre until 1988 when it could no longer compete with the increasingly popular movie complexes with multiple screens. The doors of the Princess then remained closed until 1992, when owner Rowena Ramage gifted the inoperative theatre to the town of Winnsboro. 

Following restoration of the theatre to a live performance venue, the Princess reopened two years later in 1994. Despite the many changes the Princess has gone through over the years, she retains some of her original features, and movies are still shown there on occasion throughout the year.

Thornhill described the Princess as a black box whose dimensions are comparable to the black box theatre at the University of Louisiana in Monroe. Today, the Princess’s stage continues to have several trap doors. Some used to flip up with lights to shine onto the stage. Others led beneath the stage where performers went to prepare for performances and for costume changes as needed. Thornhill said she’s unsure what the original height of the space under the stage was, but now it’s not really high enough for the average person to stand fully upright. However, the original theatre did not have a dressing room.

Another striking, original feature of the theatre is its ceiling, which is covered in large, pressed-tin tiles. Tiles like these originated in America as a cheaper, lighter, and more durable alternative to the elaborate plaster ceilings that were popular in Europe at the time. They were designed to last and give a high-end look without the expensive price tag and became very popular between 1890 and 1930. 

In 2017, when work was done to repair a roof collapse at the Princess, every effort was made to preserve the original ceiling tiles, and those efforts were successful, making it possible for more generations of Princess patrons to enjoy their original, shiny splendor.

Today the historical theatre remains in use as a live performance venue and enjoys landmark status. Both the Princess Theatre and the adjoining Princess Room, which was originally a pharmacy, hold this status and are also available to rent for events. Having landmark status provides a measure of protection for these spaces. The status is not only an honor but can also be useful when it comes to saving historic buildings because people tend to hold landmark properties in high regard.

Although the Princess Theatre has lived a long and productive life, that life has not been without hardship and a couple near-death experiences. Thornhill said the Princess was almost lost when the roof collapsed in 2017. At that time, the theatre was truly in crisis, but the community pulled together to save not only the remaining performances in the series but also the roof and the building itself.

A local church, Life Church, provided a temporary performance space. “Of course there were challenges,” Thornhill said, “but Life Church was so kind and gracious to us. We appreciate their generosity.” Because of that generosity, the Princess was able to carry on with its shows uninterrupted. 

Also, during this time, several fundraising efforts took place to save the theatre, including a charity concert by Kix Brooks of Brooks & Dunn, which remains the best-selling duo in country music history. Born and raised in Shreveport, Brooks has roots in Louisiana and owns a farm near Winnsboro. 

But his ties to the area are not the only reason Brooks chose to support the Princess. “Preserving venues like the Princess–which bring the arts to rural communities–is more important now than ever,” Brooks said. “The arts inspire and institutions like this theatre provide a necessary public service and a convenient location to experience live entertainment. Supporting the preservation of historic venues like the Princess Theatre in my home state is something I’m incredibly passionate about.”

If it were not for Brooks and the community’s support, the Princess Theatre might not have gone on to live another day. “It was really a community effort and a desire to not lose it,” Thornhill said. “It came down to people who really put in the time, effort, and energy to save it.”

Although Rowena Ramage gifted the building to the town of Winnsboro, the Princess is its own nonprofit. “The theatre was gifted to the community for a purpose, and it’s serving that purpose,” Thornhill said. 

Fortunately, that support is deeply rooted. “Many people in the community have memories centering around this building,” Thornhill said, “watching movies and that being part of the lore. They remember buying popcorn here and who sat where. It was a big deal. My parents grew up going to the movies here.”

Today, the Princess works hard to continue helping people create special memories by spreading a love for the arts, especially live theatre. “We have events for people of all ages,” said Thornhill. “We try to have a wide variety of shows, and we’re working on making sure that our shows appeal to a wide variety of audiences.”  

Through a grant from a generous sponsor, the Princess also provides a free summer theatre camp to approximately 60 children a year. The camp focuses on music, movement, and speaking on stage. At the conclusion, the children participate in a performance to showcase their newly learned skills. 

“We’re really working to give kids in the community a place to come if they’re interested in the arts,” Thornhill said, “because they don’t have access to that in school here. They have a band, and that’s it.” At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Princess also supported children’s literacy by providing free digital access to story-time recordings that they planned and produced. Supporting the community’s youth is definitely key to the mission of the Princess.

“By giving to our students, I believe that we’re giving to their families,” Thornhill said, “because you can’t sow into their lives without sowing into their families.”

In addition to providing five to six shows in their annual series, including shows that provide performance opportunities for youth, the Princess brings in outside performers and aims to provide educational opportunities that appeal to a broad spectrum of the community as well. “We’re doing our best to bring shows that our older community likes as well,” said Thornhill, “such as music that they are asking for. It just really makes it feel like there’s something going on down here.”

The Princess is limited by the fact she is only a single stage, but Thornhill said, “We’re working really hard to put as much on our stage as we can and still manage it.” In December, the Princess will be getting new seats throughout, so those attending shows in the 2023 season will enjoy a new level of comfort. The 2023 season will kick off with “Red Velvet Cake Wars” in February. 

Thornhill said, “Being a part of the Princess feels like you’re part of something larger than yourself–more than just you. Not only are you a part of the history and everything that the Princess represents. It also feels like you’re a part of this community. It feels like you’re part of something larger than just the individual. It’s like you find your place in the whole.”

Everyone who has ever been to the Princess or has a connection to the theatre has a story to tell about it. Thornhill said, “Being a part of the Princess is like you’ve found your place in the story.”

When grown people come back to participate in a show after being away since they were kids, or when people who grew up participating in shows watch their kids participating in shows, it’s really moving. “It’s like a continual flow. It’s like you’re part of the flow of history,” Thornhill said. “To the community as a whole, I think that we represent a piece of history, so for those that are really oriented to the past, we represent something that is part of bygone era, but it’s still functioning, and that probably feels really good, and for people who are concerned about the future, we’re working to bring diversity to our stage and to make shows enjoyable to all people.” 

The organization is working hard to balance the old and new. Thornhill said, “We’re constantly trying to keep things fresh and new and exciting while also honoring the past, which is important.”

Winnsboro is a small town, and there are not many things to do, but Thornhill believes the visual and performing arts add value to the community. “We offer people the opportunity to laugh, cry, and think together,” said Thornhill.

The Princess provides residents of Winnsboro and beyond an opportunity to be part of a shared goal, shared experiences, and a shared history. Everyone who has ever set foot in the Princess is a part of her growing legacy.