Honoring the past and looking ahead on McCarthy’s 50th Anniversary at St. Mike’s

In the 1970s, Fine Arts faculty at Saint Michael’s College saw an urgent need for a new performing arts center following a fire – and resulting demolition – of the surplus wooden structure that had been used as the Saint Michael’s Playhouse. 

The Playhouse, founded in 1947 by Professor Henry Fairbanks, was initially located in Austin Hall but was torn down in 1960 to make way for Alliot Hall, necessitating a relocation for theatrical performances. The second Austin Hall, a surplus wooden structure from Fort Ethan Allen, was a quick solution to the pressing need for a performance space. However, not only was it inadequate, with no air conditioning and limited space, but the eventual fire in 1970 destroyed any space the College had for performances. 

The McCarthy Arts Center Recital Hall was constructed with the rest of the building during the 1970s at St. Mike’s. (Saint Michael’s College Archives)

Thanks to leadership within the Fine Arts Department at the time, plans for the McCarthy Arts Center were born. The arts center was eventually opened in 1975. 

This year, Saint Michael’s College celebrated the art center’s 50th anniversary during its annual Alumni and Family Weekend in September. The 50th anniversary celebration included tours of McCarthy, talks with professors past and present, and an open house of the archives in Durick Library. Participants also celebrated a memorial circle honoring former music and theater alumni as well as Donald and Joanne Rathgeb, two early faculty members in the Fine Arts Department. 

McCarthy: A new vision for Fine Arts

After the fire in 1970, faculty in the Fine Arts Department faced both a dilemma and an opportunity for building the department’s new home. 

“It was immediately apparent that we did not have a performing arts center,” said Dr. William Tortolano at his talk about the planning of McCarthy during Alumni & Family Weekend. 

The Saint Michael’s Playhouse preceded the construction of the McCarthy Arts Center at Saint Michael’s College. (Saint Michael’s College Archives)

Tortolano, who was Chair of the Fine Arts Department at the time, along with Donald and Joanne Rathgeb, assisted in planning the building that would later become the McCarthy Arts Center. 

The Rathgebs had been key figures in running the Saint Michael’s Playhouse as directors, actors, set designers, and in other roles. They became professors in the 1960s and later served as chairs of the Fine Arts Department, with Donald Rathgeb holding the position for 21 years until his retirement in 1997.

The faculty planners had a vision for a space that would be practical and multi-purpose, while upholding the growing reputation of Performing Arts at the College. 

“We have two theatres, each designed perfectly for music or theater… the theaters are designed for what they do,” Tortolano said at the 50th anniversary celebration, referencing the Main Stage Theatre and Recital Hall. He added that they also envisioned an art gallery, faculty offices, rehearsal spaces, and more.

Fine Arts Professor Joanne Rathgeb addresses a group of students seated in the McCarthy Arts Center Mainstage Theatre during the 1980s. (Saint Michael’s College Archives)

‘A place of welcome and belonging’

The McCarthy Arts Center officially opened in 1975, and the Saint Michael’s Playhouse had its first production on campus since 1970, with “The Glass Menagerie” by Tennessee Williams. Since its opening, numerous shows and events have been held in the recital hall, theater, and art gallery in McCarthy. 

The Fine Arts Department still boasts three majors, including Theatre, Art & Design, and Music. In the early days of the department, all students were required to take courses in each of these subjects. Senior seminars were also completed together, creating a community of artists whose different perspectives could be shared.

The departments have grown and changed significantly since the beginning of McCarthy, but they continue to produce well-rounded graduates who enter a variety of industries, including fine arts.

The view from backstage in the Main Stage Theatre during a rehearsal for “Cinderella” in 2023. (Photo by Cat Cutillo)

Alumni & Family Weekend brought an opportunity for alumni to reconnect with McCarthy and those who were responsible for its creation and the growth of the Fine Arts Department. A group of former students sat in for a talk with Emeritus English Professor and Shakespeare scholar Nick Clary, along with current Theatre Professor Peter Harrigan ‘83, and Theatre Professor John Devlin, the current resident designer and technical director. 

The group reminisced about their time at the College, the impact their professors and classes had on them, and the ways in which they had kept theater in their lives.

In the 50 years since McCarthy was built, the Fine Arts Department has shifted in many ways. This has included a split from an all-encompassing discipline to concentrations in different areas of the Performing Arts, including music, theatre and dance, and the separate Art & Design program. Despite this shift, the community remains strong – a testament to the active faculty members who have continued to encourage students and provide them with numerous opportunities for growth. 

“It’s always just been two to three people who did everything, going back to the Rathgebs doing that and empowering students,” Harrigan said. “You find that person who’s your wonderful work study student in their first year, and by the time they’re a junior, they’re doing things instead of you. So that’s been a really lovely aspect.”

Students interact with the McCarthy Art Gallery exhibit “We Are The Weather” in 2023. The exhibit included the creations of Seattle-based artist Vaughn Bell, who often works in the public art sector to create collaborative projects that frequently focus on our watershed and ecology. (Photo by Cat Cutillo)

McCarthy, the building itself, has also gone through changes. The seats in both theatres have been replaced, the building has been repainted, and a lobby alcove was added in the early 2000s. Art & Design Professor Brian Collier, the curator and director of the McCarthy Art Gallery, also revived the gallery, allowing senior Art & Design majors to put on solo exhibits – a rarity for undergraduates in the arts – to show their capstone work each spring. 

“If you make an investment in a building like that, you need to keep up with it, and keep improving things and changing things, and sometimes replacing things,” Harrigan said. 

While the departments and building have changed over the years, McCarthy continues to be the place where students can express themselves in a variety of different art forms.

Sean Michael Plumb, son of Saint Michael’s College’s 18th President Richard Plumb, gives an opera performance during his father’s inauguration weekend in fall 2024. (Photo by Steve Mease)

Harrigan, who plans to retire in 2026, said he hopes the McCarthy Arts Center continues to be supported and used well into the future. 

“It’s a wonderful facility in so many respects,” Harrigan said. “In this area, there are bigger places, like the Flynn, and there are smaller venues. [McCarthy is] unique and very well equipped for its size.” 

Harrigan also hopes the arts center will continue to be a place where students find acceptance and freedom of expression. 

“It has always been a place of welcome and belonging, where students who perhaps didn’t ‘fit into’ other aspects of campus life could find encouragement from faculty mentors, and life-long friendships with other students,” Harrigan said. “This is one of the most enduring results of life in McCarthy, and I sincerely hope it will always be present.”