The Bangor Opera House and The Penobscot Theatre Company are celebrating a major milestone... turning 100-years-old!
The last of the seven opera houses that once existed in the greater Bangor area, it was once known as the "Little Broadway of the North."
It has transformed from a vaudeville house to a movie house and now to a professional theatre!
Executive Director of the Penobscot Theatre Company Katheryn Ravenscraft says the theater has a long history, "The original opera house was built in 1882. It burned down in 1914 and the lot sat empty for five years. They re-opened it in 1920, the first year of prohibition and it's been going strong ever since."
The property has been home to Penobscot Theatre Company for more than twenty years.
"It was like a safe haven in a way, as a kid you could lose yourself for hours in this place," says Bangor Historian Richard Shaw.
It is one of the few remaining theatres in the United States that still uses a system of rope lines to move backdrops and scene pieces, also known as a hemp house.
"Popcorn was ten cents a box in the mid-thirties, to see the Wizard of Oz. You could sit and watch it all afternoon," says Shaw.
Nowadays, the theatre company offers a variety of musicals and plays all year long.
"We employ 150 people here each season, artists, directors, designers come from all over the country," says Producing Artistic Director Bari Newport.
"We also have winter that just drags on and on, and so people want to have a way to be warm and cozy, to be part of a group, and to disconnect from whatever is happening in their own lives," says Ravenscraft.
Many come and watch a play or musical and enjoy it, but don't know the work and planning it takes to put up a show!
"The sound, the lights, God bless the stage managers, behind this, it's supposed to be quiet, but there is a whole circus going on! For every person on stage, there are five to ten people backstage working just as hard. The audience doesn't see it, but it can't happen without them," says actor Steve Robbins.
This 100 anniversary marks the beginning of a fundraising campaign for the Penobscot Theatre Company. To donate, go to the theatre's main website here.
To make the theatre accessible to everyone in the community, a new program called Woody's Welcome Wagon enables you to just show up at the box office before a show, pick an empty seat and see a show for free!
Some of their upcoming shows this year include:
- Safety Net (March 12- March 29)
- The Snow Queen (March 20 - March 22)
- Tell Me On A Sunday (April 3 - April 5)
- Becoming Dr. Ruth (April 23 - May 10)
- The Secret Garden (May 15-May17)
- 9 to 5 The Musical (June 11- June 12)
The theatre has behind the scenes tours for every show for anyone interested in learning more about the history of the opera house, its ghost stories and everything that makes the theatre special to everyone in the community.
"This building, this theatre, these people, those seats... it's a part of who we are," says Robbins.
The Penobscot Theatre Company also has a drama academy that offers after school programs for kids and teens who are interested in theatre.
It also offers adult classes for improv and performance conservatories.