Showstopper: Everything goes black

Continued from previous week
On a July day in 1959, J.P. Adler was enjoying a pleasant game of golf at the Marshfield Country Club.
At 71, he was now beginning to enjoy the delights life had to offer.
The passing of his father-in-law Hans Bille the year before had given him a new appreciation for enjoying his free time.
Though never far from his local business interests, Adler’s daughter, Bette, had assumed the rigors as president of the Adler Theater Company.

Assisted by key manager Edward Moyle and her family, Bette slid into the role her father had been grooming her for since childhood.
As J.P. made his way through the first holes of the course that Thursday evening, his competitive edge shone as he challenged his fellow threesome at every turn.
Upon reaching the fifth hole, Adler prepared to tee off, but soon sat down on a nearby bench.
There, he collapsed from a coronary attack.
Alerting a nearby physician, Adler’s friends rushed to his side.
When attempts to revive the prominent businessman failed, Adler was rushed to Marshfield’s St. Joseph’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Once again, the Adler theaters went black.
As Rosa Adler laid her husband to rest, she struggled with her own medical issues.
Diagnosed with cancer, she battled with the disease through the following years and eventually withdrew from active participation in the business.
Thanks to the expert financial dealings of daughter Anne, the J.P. Adler estate now primarily consisted of stocks and bonds, which along with the business interests, were now in the hands of Rosa and the Adler girls.
Edward Moyle continued to assist Bette in the Adler business properties — a relationship that worked well.
He then transferred the job to his son, Stan, until a young man took a place in Bette’s business as well as her heart.
Paul Rogers was the manager of the youth center that was housed in the old Adler Opera House.
Bette’s first meeting with Rogers created an indelible connection between the two, when Bette found Rogers on his hands and knees scrubbing the stage floor of the Opera House — a place very dear to the family.
The pair formed a close and solid association in a relationship that greatly resembled that of a mother and son.
Rogers remained at Bette’s side, working his way up to assistant manager and then manager of the company.
While the turbulent years of business would level off somewhat, the approaching year of 1964 would prove to be a very emotionally charged one for the Adler girls.
As the “Adler Block” was sold, Bette and Anne watched as the business that played a leading role in the Adler Theater Company was razed.
Marshfield residents filled the streets as the original Adler Theater was torn down.
The final chapter was written in a story that brought Hollywood to a small Wisconsin town.
Just months later, Rosa would succumb to her battle with cancer.
To be continued