The question of “Who’s Julie” that’s been floating around Marshalltown this week has been answered. The Orpheum Theatre’s marquee on Tuesday posed the question: “JULIE, WILL YOU MARRY ME?”
It prompted coffee-shop speculation as to who proposed and whether Julie answered. Pip Gordon, director of the remodeled downtown theatre, helped movie buff Jeff Miller with the question to Julie Carlson, his girlfriend. Gordon says she jumped at the chance to lend Miller some assistance after getting a phone call from him.
“He was wondering if we could really help him out and because the Orpheum was such a part of the fabric of their life, it would be just fabulous to put it up on the marquee,” Gordon says. “It was a no-brainer for us, it was, like, let’s make it happen!” Since the Julie in question owns a decorating business that’s adjacent to the theatre, Gordon says putting up the question was tricky.
“She works right next door to the Orpheum so to make sure she was gone, once she was gone, out came the letters, up goes the message and the lights turn on at 7 o’clock every night,” Gordon says. “He was going to time it to bring her back around 8 o’clock and flip a U-turn on Main Street and there it was.” The question prompted a lot of interest across the community, says Gordon.
The staff was thrilled, she says, and many people popped their heads in asking if it was for real and if she’s given an answer yet, even texting Gordon at 6 A.M. to inquire. Both Miller and Carlson had recently attended a classic movie at the renovated theatre, which originally opened in the late 1940s. The marquee now shows Julie’s answer — “YES!”
By Lance Renaud, KFJB, Marshalltown