Draped beautifully

A star was born on the Madison Elementary School stage this week.

It was not the next spelling bee champ or a Hilary Duff wannabe.

This celebrity was the new stage curtain, which was long overdue, considering the original curtains had been hanging around the school since the 1950s.

“Everybody who has come by is thrilled,” said George Lathrop, owner of Silhouette Lights & Staging, the company that replaced the curtains. “I think it’s because of that old, ratty stuff.”

The original curtain was put up shortly after the school opened in 1949. The upstage curtain and valance were made of heavy velour material. The burnt-orange color was bold in its day, but old age turned it dusty and faded.

The backstage curtains and valances, that once were a vibrant gold, had rotted and were as frayed as the hem of a teenager’s jeans. No one remembers if the originals were ever cleaned.

“From the amount of dust that came down, I kind of doubt it,” said Lathrop, who worked a full day on replacing the curtains. “It kind of reminded me of Mount St. Helens.”

The new upstage curtain and valance are pine green and made of cotton twill. The lighter-weight backstage curtains and valance are black.

Madison Principal Brent Perdue said the cost of the curtains is roughly $4,000. They were paid for through school funds and money raised by the PTO. Throughout curtain-hanging day, teachers popped into the gym and took a peek at the new curtains. No one was disappointed.

“Oh, isn’t that nice,” first-grade teacher and 25-year employee Ellen Rush said.

Added first-grade teacher Eileen Mabee, a 20-year employee: “The old curtains were so ugly, just worn out.”

Over the years, Rush, Mabee and longtime second-grade teacher Dede Johns have seen their share of talent shows, holiday celebrations and guest speakers appear from behind the orange curtains.

“I was Diana Ross on that stage once,” Johns said.

Let the new supreme memories begin.