​PARKERSBURG — The excitement is high at the Peoples Bank Theatre in Marietta where a new digital marquee was unveiled on Valentine’s Day. “Absolutely,” said Kaitlin Streater, marketing director of the theater on Putnam Street. “Overall, this is an exciting place to be,” she said. Peoples Bank Theatre and the Smoot Theatre are among the  Read More Entertainment 

​Mar 6, 2025

Staff Reporter

jmancini@newsandsentinel.com

The new marquee at the Peoples Bank Theatre in Marietta was introduced to the public at a ribbon cutting in front of the theater on Putnam Street on Feb. 14. Cutting the ribbon were General Manager Miranda Duty and Peoples Bank President and CEO Tyler Wilcox. (File Photo)

PARKERSBURG — The excitement is high at the Peoples Bank Theatre in Marietta where a new digital marquee was unveiled on Valentine’s Day.

“Absolutely,” said Kaitlin Streater, marketing director of the theater on Putnam Street.

“Overall, this is an exciting place to be,” she said.

Peoples Bank Theatre and the Smoot Theatre are among the entertainment venues in the region.

At the Smoot, a three-part series debuted in February with topics about the theaters once in Parkersburg, history and all about being a Big Red. It was the idea of Felice Jorgeson, artistic director of the Smoot, with Camp Vaudeville, the Spring Sing, the youth choirs and the Missoula Children’s Theatre held each year.

Among the youth activities are the Smoot children’s choirs. (File Photo)

“I just looked at our calendar and saw some empty weekends and thought, ‘let’s fill in with a lecture series,’” she said. “I always had attended the series that the Blennerhassett Museum had done, they weren’t doing it anymore so I thought ‘Why not?’”

The presentations were “Steppin’ Out” about theaters in Parkersburg, “Prelude to the Revolution” about West Virginia before the Revolutionary War and “Once a Big Red, Always a Big Red” hosted by former Big Red football Coach Buddy James.

“Each of these topics just happen to be of interest to me and hopefully to others,” Jorgeson said.

Jorgeson and her late husband, Kent, were directors of the marching band and worked with James.

“He was our friend and you could tell that he bled Red and White,” Jorgeson said. “He loved PHS then and he loves her now.”

Among the big acts scheduled at the Peoples Bank Theatre were George Thorogood & the Destroyers, Josh Turner and Chris Janson in February and Dailey & Vincent and Dark Side of the Moon in April.

George Thoroughgood & the Destroyers had hits with “Bad to the Bone,” “Move It on Over” and “Who Do You Love?”

Amy Grant will perform 3 p.m. April 13. Her hits included “That’s What Love is For” and “Baby Baby.”

Upcoming shows in the season include Ben Folds Paper Airplane Request Tour, Shenandoah and the Gatlin Brothers.

The free Esbenshade Series presented with Marietta College includes ARTRAGEOUS, the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company

It’s just as exciting outside the theater, too, where a new digital marquee has been installed.

The digital marquee was unveiled on Valentines Day on the front of the historic theater where the theatre installed a new sign that resembles the original from the 1920s.

“Our new digital marquee will be a nice addition to our theater,” Streator said.

The theater also installed a cutting-edge sound system, the JBL VTX-A8 and A6 Series to greatly improve the experience of the audience regardless where seated.

Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com