Long-time St. Joseph parishioners Paul and Maureen Milord were given a special honor in February when the Drama Group renamed its Chicago Heights space the Milord Studio Theatre.
The Milords volunteered with the not-for-profit theater group for 50 years and were responsible for staging and directing many hits, including “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Cabaret” and “Oliver.”
Paul, who was the third generation to run the general contracting business Milord Company, designed the studio. He then donated the materials and labor of a Milord Company crew to build the theater building at 330 W. 202nd Street in Chicago Heights.
Maureen was a fixture in the box office handling Drama Group ticket sales during those 50 years of volunteerism.
Paul said it was a fellow parishioner, Dick Casey, who first invited them to see a play he was featured in in the 1960s. The Milords went to see a few more plays and decided they’d get involved.
Over the years, they sent their eight children to St. Joseph School, and later put them to work at the Drama Group as child actors, stage and construction crew and clean-up duty.
Their son Paul is now actively involved with the Drama Group.