Returning Bellarmine students may have noticed something a bit different while walking through the halls of the A-building during the first few days of school. The mural painted by former student Lex Gernon on the wall outside of McAstocker Theater has been recently repainted to match the off-white color of the rest of the building.

“The mural’s design focused on the entire theater program that had been built by Mr. Mike Wilkinson,” says Gernon, “It was a homage to his incredible gift that he brought BPS and the success the program came to while working with him.”

The mural featured scenes from 23 productions from Wilkinson’s time at Bellarmine, including Fiddler on the Roof, Les Mis, Grease, and other award-winning musicals.

“It was never intended to be a permanent display,” says facilities director Kevin Kalal. “The students who participated in many of those productions have all graduated.”

“Mr. Kalal and I never spoke about the mural,” says Gernon, “I went through the administration for permission to paint it. It was intended as a permanent piece after another mural that had been there before. I was really hurt seeing a picture on Facebook this year showing that it had been painted over. Nobody contacted me to tell me that it was going to be painted over, otherwise I would have tried to come in and get some more photos of it.”

The mural is not the only change that has been made to McAstocker Theater. The inside has recently been repainted as well, and new carpeting and track lighting has been installed. “I hope that the Bellarmine community understands that we spent a significant amount of money on new improvements inside the theater. The whole idea behind the changes is to create a performing arts facility worthy of the quality of the performances the students put on here,” says Kalal.

There are currently no plans on creating a new mural, but the topic is not completely out of the question. Kalal is planning on meeting with Theater Director Shannon Casey to discuss potential displays.

“I know Ms. Casey was thinking about a sign saying ‘McAstocker Theater’ over the doors and maybe pictures of current performances on the walls,” says Kalal. “The mural was impressive, but it was no longer timely. We want to spotlight presentations the kids are doing now, not back in 2008.”