Linda Smith, Leader Of A Morristown Renaissance, Dead At 72

MORRISTOWN, NJ — As the legend goes, a Russian conductor stood on decaying Community Theatre stage. Seats were ripped up, mushrooms grew on the stage and mildew and mold thrived in the facility that sat in disrepair for more than a decade.

The Kirov Orchestra conductor snapped his fingers and liked the acoustics, so he agreed to play Community Theatre's first show since a group of volunteers dedicated themselves to reviving the building.

That facility is now the Mayo Performing Arts Center (MPAC), one of the region's premier destinations to catch a show. The comeback wouldn't have been possible without Linda and Don Jay Smith — a couple who spearheaded the recovery efforts.

Linda Smith died Friday, ending a battle with metastatic breast cancer at age 72. Having made MPAC a modern force before co-founding the local Jazz & Blues Festival, those in the Morristown arts scene know its modern renaissance wouldn't look the same without Smith.

It might not have happened at all.

"I would honestly say that the Community Theater would not have succeeded if it were not for the Smiths," said Larry Ripley, who volunteered with Smith to revive the theater. "Without question, they were the driving force for the first couple of years."

Rebuilding a Theater

Ripley has lived in the area long enough to remember when the facility thrived as the Walter Reade Movie Theatre. He remembers visits as a kid in the mid-to-late 1960s, first walking in and getting wrapped in the lush, royal blue carpeting.

When you had a special date or wanted to visit a fancy place for a show, you visited the theater in Morristown. But when he moved to town in 1969, he watched it decline.

"It was very sad," Ripley said. "I remember after it was boarded up, every time I would go by, it would tug at you because it was so sad to see it in disrepair."

Ripley met Smith in the late 1980s. They both had children in the Morristown High School band and participated in the music boosters.

Smith came with a wealth of musical experience. She excelled as a vocalist while growing up in Midland, Michigan, and Stamford, Connecticut, before attending the Rhodes Preparatory School and then New York University.

In the late 1960s, she worked for a marketing agency in New York City. Her job included designing record jackets, including releases by John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Melanie.

They became part of a small group of volunteers hoping to revive Community Theatre. They recruited about 400 people who came in day and night, ripping up carpeting, shoveling trash, painting, scrubbing — whatever was necessary for the show to go on.

Smith became the theater's second employee. The property owner offered it to the group for significantly lower than market price. Smith — the theater's first artistic and executive director — secured a bridge loan to keep Community Theatre open until they could get a mortgage.

From there, the theater hosted some of music's biggest names, including Ray Charles, Willie Nelson, Maynard Ferguson, Midori, Greg Allman, B.B. King and Judy Collins.

"Linda, along with her husband, Don, was instrumental in making the original vision of turning an old shuttered movie theatre into a concert venue a reality," said MPAC President Allison Larena. "Her contribution to laying the foundation of our venue, now one of the most successful in the country, will not be forgotten."

Bringing Live Music to Morristown

Somehow, Smith always knew how to sell out a show, even when the performers themselves didn't think it was possible. She slated Svetlana and the Delancey Five for the Bickford Theatre in 2018.

Jazz singer Svetlana Shmulyian didn't know if she had many New Jersey fans. And the Bickford would represent her first large theater performance in the Garden State.

But Smith assured her the show would become a success — "Don’t worry. They’ll love you," she told Shmulyian. And she was correct, with the show selling all but a few tickets.

"I don’t think I’ve ever worked with anybody like that," Shmulyian said. "It’s just not how the business is run these days, unfortunately. She was very passionate, really looking out for the artists."

Outside of reviving Morristown's arts scene, Smith had many passions. Her talents included knitting, crocheting, decorating and baking. She was well-read, excelling at The New York Times' Sunday crossword puzzle and Scrabble.

She and Don opened their hearts to many pets. They had nine dogs and eight cats in their years together, and Linda fostered dozens more. Her favorite cat, Calico, died just a couple of hours before her.

But Smith kept bringing the joy of live music to thousands until the pandemic. The Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival represented "the jewel in her crown," Ripley said.

Ripley volunteered at each festival and only saw it get bigger every year. The event got canceled last year because of COVID-19 but will return Sept. 18. And it wouldn't have been possible without Smith.

"Linda was the ever consummate professional and her experience and hard work helped make the Jazz & Festival the phenomenal success it is today," said Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty. "Her legacy will live on in our future festivals and with each event, we will honor and pay tribute to Linda and her dedication.”

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