Playwriting and honeymooning: Generally speaking, they’re two entirely separate activities. But for Evanston librarians Rick Kinnebrew and Martha Meyer, a post-wedding trip to Wisconsin sparked the creation of “Ten Dollar House,” a true tale of love, architecture and the unlikely salvation of a dying town.
Running through Jan. 31 at Piccolo Theatre, Pride Films & Plays’ production of “Ten Dollar House,” delves into the story of Robert Neal, Edgar Hellum and a partnership that turned Mineral Point, Wis. from a dead-end nowheresville into a thriving community.
“When you take the historical tour at Mineral Point, you hear all about Bob and Edgar and the work they did in the 1930s, when the town was basically dying,” says Meyer. “They bought buildings, renovated them, opened a restaurant, and gave people jobs. Without them, the town probably would have just disappeared.”
“But a huge part of their story isn’t really publicized that much,” adds Kinnebrew. “Bob and Edgar were two gay men, living together at a time when gay marriage wasn’t even an idea, much less legal. They were partners in a committed relationship who thrived in this tiny, conservative town. They were revolutionaries, hiding in plain sight.”
Meyer and Kinnebrew had never heard of Hellum and Neal when they travelled to Spring Green, Wis. in 2009. The trip was to celebrate their wedding; their itinerary included tours of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin estate and a production of “The Winter’s Tale” at the acclaimed American Players Theatre. It was random intermission chit-chat that brought Mineral Point to their attention. “Someone mentioned that if we liked the Wright tour, we should check out Mineral Point, and look into the story there,” recalls Meyer.
A quick stop on the way home quickly morphed into hours holed up in the local library, poring over documents detailing the lives of Neal and Hellum and the restoration project that turned into the town’s salvation.
Neal was a native of Mineral Point who had made a career for himself as a designer in London. He returned to Wisconsin near the start of the Depression, keen to make his mark as a designer in his hometown. What he found was a hometown on the verge of extinction.
“Bob was a born aesthete,” says Kinnebrew. “Trouble was, he was born in a crummy, dying mining town.”
Mineral Point had been a successful Cornish mining community in the 19th century, but by the 1930s, the mines were long closed and the WPA was hiring men to tear down the miners’ stone cottages that dotted the landscape.
Neal bought one of the cottages for $10, and set about restoring it. With Hellum by his side, he christened the place Pendarvis after a lavish estate in Cornwall. By 1934, he and Hellum had saved numerous buildings from the wrecking ball and rehabilitated them. The couple opened a bakery and a restaurant in one in order to finance their ongoing restorations. According to the local historical society, the restaurant became internationally known for serving authentic Cornish dishes. The bakery turned into a communal town meeting place. Both venues catered to the townsfolk — and provided employment — until 1970 when Hellum and Neal finally retired.
The Wisconsin Historical Society bought their buildings, which today form a sprawling museum campus.
“We first saw their story as a movie,” says Kinnebrew.”So we wrote a screenplay. Lots of characters. Lots of locations. Very cinematic.” But after failing twice to win the grand prize in a local screenwriting contest, Kinnebrew and Meyer decided to take a different tack, and adapt their screenplay into a stage play.
“We thought we’d have a better shot getting produced as a play,” says Meyer. They were right. The piece premiered at Madison’s Broom Street Theatre last year and had a sold-out reading at Evanston’s Piven Theatre.
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It also got the attention of funders: To pay for the Piccolo run, Meyer and Kinnebrew got a grant from the Evanston Arts Council, raised just over $3,000 through an Indiegogo campaign and garnered another $6,000 through a meet-and-greet cocktail party in Rogers Park.
“I’m hoping people who see this will understand how important it is to celebrate the stories of LGBTQ history,” says Meyer. “This is a story of two amazing entrepreneurs. It’s inspiring, no matter how you look at it.”
‘Ten Dollar House’
When: Through Jan. 31
Where: Piccolo Theatre, 600 Main St., Evanston
Tickets: $17-$27
Contact: (800) 737-0984; www.pridefilmsandplays.com/ten-dollar-house