The Music Hall (Portsmouth)
43°04′33″N 70°45′36″W / 43.07583°N 70.76000°W The Music Hall is a 906-seat theater located in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, in the United States. Built in 1878, The Music Hall claims to be the oldest operating theater in New Hampshire and the 14th oldest in the United States. An independent venue that offers music, readings, dance, and cinema, The Music Hall brings in 90,000 visitors a year.[1] In the past it has hosted musicians like Suzanne Vega and authors like Dan Brown.
History
Important in history and in the lives of Seacoast residents for 130 years, The Music Hall has brought nationally and internationally acclaimed artists to this small city, making world-class entertainment readily accessible to the region. Since 1878 it has reflected and affected the growth of this bright corner of New England, serving as an important gathering place.
1878-1901
The theater stands on the site of one of Portsmouth’s original meeting houses, “The Temple,” which had once been a Baptist Meeting House and, before that, the site of the country’s first Alms House as well as a prison. A series of fires have colored the site’s history, the most significant the Christmas Eve of 1876 which inspired a group of Seacoast residents, including many members of the Peirce family , to build The Music Hall as we know it today. For the next few decades The Music Hall brought the community Opera, Drama, Dance and traditional Vaudeville fare from as far away as Europe and as close as our own community players.
The famed D'Oyly Carte Opera Company (Gilbert and Sullivan) performed The Pirates of Penzance within weeks of its US premiere, and countless Shakespearean actors known around the world graced The Music Hall stage, including Margaret Mather, Thomas W. Keene and John Drew. Buffalo Bill Cody and his Wild West Show performed their smaller indoor show numerous times, and Portsmouth saw its very first moving pictures on Edison’s Graphophone here in 1898.
As is true today, The Music Hall was also dedicated to providing support for local organizations to raise money and awareness through the arts. Groups such as The Masons, the Portsmouth Athletic Club and The Chase Home for Children produced local benefits to raise money for their various causes.
1901-1987
In 1901 The Music Hall’s new owner, the politician-brewer-railroad baron Frank Jones, envisioned and executed its first renovation. The theater, now endowed with a proscenium arch and stage house, remained a central feature of the downtown area through the mid 1920s.
Broadway was well represented, with performances of Peter Pan, The Wizard of Oz and No, No, Nanette among many other shows that came to the theater within the first weeks of leaving “The Great White Way” in New York City. As is true today, The Music Hall was also dedicated to providing support for local organizations to raise money and awareness through the arts. Groups such as the Masons, the Portsmouth Athletic Club and The Chase Home for Children produced local benefits to raise money for their various causes.
Between the world wars The Music Hall remained the home of community events and high school graduations, but fewer traveling shows were presented. Moving pictures became the primary entertainment draw for residents of Portsmouth. Though adapted for film showing, the theater could not compete with the three venues created in the 1910s expressly for that purpose, and went through a period of partial closings that lasted until a Kittery man purchased the building in 1945 at auction and renamed the hall “The Civic”.
For almost four decades audiences watched the stars of the screen ranging from John Wayne to John Barrymore and were able to catch up on the latest newsreels or episodes of their favorite serial. By the mid-1960s, the Hall had been leased to movie palace mogul E.M. Loew and operated in tandem with his other theatre, The Colonial, in Market Square. Though relegated to showing some of the less popular film titles, The Civic remained a favored venue for the Portsmouth community until it was sold to a holding company in the early 1980s when it was considered “too old” to be of any use to Loew.
After another brief period of closure and trip to the auction block, The Music Hall was once again re-opened. Thanks to the generosity, hard work and foresight of a group of concerned residents known as The Friends of The Music Hall, who followed in the footsteps of the Peirce Family of more than a century before, the theater emerged as a non-profit center for the performing arts.
1987-Present
Saved from demolition by the community in 1987 and blossoming today with nationally recognized programs, the not-for-profit art center is delicately balancing successful growth. Since its 2003 designation as an “American Treasure,” The Music Hall has emerged as a cultural anchor in the region, engaging 100,000 patrons each year, including 20,000 school children.
The building’s award-winning restorations and renovations which have brought back details dating back to 1878 and 1901, the hall’s periods of architectural significance. Visitors today enjoy the theater’s gloriously restored proscenium arch and its fanciful and functional lobby and look forward to additional historic restorations of the antique backstage.
Now the only remaining venue of its kind in Portsmouth, The Music Hall operates as it did in 1878, bringing the region world-class entertainment, both live and on film, and providing a meeting place for members of the community. In recent years the theater has welcomed such stars as Wynton Marsalis, Alan Alda, Patti LuPone, John Updike and Crosby & Nash. Grammy, Tony and Pulitzer Prize winners have graced the stage in performances unique to the region.
As it has for five generations, The Music Hall continues to serve the greatest variety of audiences, cultural and not-profit partners. The Music Hall's contributions to the local economy exceed $7 million annually.
Restoration Project
In 2003, The Music Hall was named an "American Treasure" under a program sponsored by the National Park Service and the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which allowed the organization to collect a large federal grant to begin restoration work.[2] Armed with $395,000 in grant money from the federal government, work began on a multi-phase restoration project designed to return the theater to the way it was during its heyday, circa 1901.[3]
In mid-2007, the restoration project was still in Phase I, which includes the refurbishment of the theater's proscenium arch, auditorium ceiling and stairs. As of July 2007, more than $910,000 had been fund raised to complete the work. During exploratory work on the water-stained ceiling, elaborate designs including Roman figures, were discovered under four coats of paint.[2]
Work on the archway was completed during the summer of 2006, and the restored interior of the auditorium was revealed on September 8, 2007.[4]
Opened in April 2011, The Loft, the Center for Performing Arts, Literature, and Education, is a cornerstone project which is delighting patrons and students of all ages. In addition to re-invigorating a key block in downtown Portsmouth, The Loft celebrated its one-year anniversary by being named “best performing arts venue” by Yankee Magazine (May/June 2012).
On Stage
Music Hall Presents
The Music Hall bring the world to Portsmouth – on stage or on screen – in our curated series of music, theater, dance, cinema and literary events. Past acts include Joshua Bell and Mavis Staples at the Historic Theater to sell out crowds.
Intimately Yours
A music series that takes large-scale stars such as Bruce Cockburn, Gladys Knight, and Ingrid Michaelson and puts them in a smaller venue setting.
Writers In The Loft
Today’s top authors, the best of fiction and nonfiction, in an intimate evening including author presentation, Q&A and book signing meet-and-greet. New York Times bestsellers Deborah Harkness and Elin Hilderbrand have been showcased in this series.
Writers On A New England Stage
An award-winning series that collaborates with New Hampshire Public Radio to create interviews with famous authors like Dan Brown and John Updike inside the Historic Theater.
Live @ The Loft
Music, spoken word, dance, comedy, and integrated arts with top-notch regional and national artists. Something for all tastes, cabaret to traditional—eclectic & electric.
Hilarity
This live comedy series features top national acts, such as Bill Cosby, Ron White, and Margaret Cho to entertain an audience from all of the New England area.
Innovation & Leadership
The Music Hall is committed to community building and personal flourishing and Innovation and Leadership Forums are part of that commitment. A chance for digital creatives to showcase their talents with a cocktail hour, and open discussion to celebrate the engaging work going on in the Seacoast. Presenters thus far include Deepak Chopra and Katrina Kenison.
Digital Portsmouth
A quarterly event showcasing the creative, digital culture that is thriving on the Seacoast. This is an opportunity for online acquaintances to connect in the real world, to network, have a cocktail, and learn about what others are doing in their fields.
On Screen
School Days Series
Top-caliber affordable matinees entertain children from 80 Seacoast Pre-K to Middle School groups, homeschoolers and families, and provide valuable educational opportunities for all creative educators.
HD Broadcast
National Theatre London HD
Top plays from the legendary National Theatre of London.
The Met @ The Music Hall
Opera broadcasts live from Lincoln Center on screen in HD. Elegant setting, superlative amenities.
Extraordinary Cinema
Screen Classics
See classic films from the past in the Historic Theater. An experience like no other.
KidsRULE! Movies
The best selection in family entertainment once a month on the big screen.
Film Matters
Global Issues, Local Resources Standing room only interactive events - high quality documentaries followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.
Wildcard Movies
Rare, random, and relevant one-night-only films showcase monthly.
Destination Programs
Kitchen Tour
The Kitchen Tour is the perfect opportunity to come and see breathtaking kitchen designs. The annual benefit showcases the best kitchens on the Seacoast.
Vintage Christmas
Presented by The Music Hall and Strawbery Banke Museum, celebrate the winter, the warmth, the light, and collective memories of holidays past.
Portsmouth Singer Songwriter Festival
A five day celebration of Americana music featuring an assortment of talented singers, songwriters, authors, and journalists.
Telluride By The Sea
A celebration of the art of film: honoring the great masters of the cinema, discovering the rare and unknown, bringing new works by the world’s greatest directors and the latest in American independent film to a small mountain town in Colorado.
Historical Tours
Go behind the scenes and learn more about the wondrous history of The Music Hall.
External links
References
- ^ ""About The Music Hall"". The Music Hall. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- ^ a b Chris Quartarone (February 2, 2007). ""Hidden Treasures"". Seacoast Online/Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- ^ ""An 'American Treasure' Saved"". The Music Hall. Retrieved May 19, 2009.
- ^ ""The Music Hall Restoration Project"". The Music Hall. Retrieved May 19, 2009.