Colonial Theatre
106 Boylston Street,
Boston,
MA
02116
106 Boylston Street,
Boston,
MA
02116
7 people
favorited this theater
Showing 26 - 50 of 72 comments
I can’t remember the titles, but they are two touring shows, both musicals, I think. One is booked in Dec., and the other in Feb. Both are part of the Broadway in Boston line-up. Ads for them have run in the Quincy Patriot-Ledger; it was in these ads that I noted the change in the theater name.
What are the two shows? Are they a joint venture between ArtsEmerson and the Wang Center?
The Colonial has been closed since early-summer 2011. Now there are at least 2 touring shows booked for this 2012-2013 theatrical season. The theater’s name as printed in the ads for those shows is: “Citi Emerson Colonial Theatre”. Oh, barf.
The Colonial has been closed and unused during the present 2011-2012 theater season. But that will change next season because at least 2 or 3 shows have been booked there.
I walked by the Colonial yesterday and it’s totally dead and dark with posters for shows at the Boston Opera House in its poster frames.
It was in the Globe a few days ago: Citi Performing Arts Center plans to reopen Colonial Theatre
I have heard that the booking of attractions at the Colonial will be handled by the Wang Center; I don’t know how accurate that is. And further to the comments above of May 10: notwithstanding what was listed in the Julius Cahn guide, I believe that the Colonial’s stage is 55 feet deep, not 45.
The Colonial is closing this weekend with no future shows scheduled, due to a disagreement between Emerson College and Broadway in Boston. Emerson would like to bring in another promoter, but that has yet to happen. Read more in this Boston Globe article
The Colonial is included in the 1906 edition of the Julius Cahn Official Theatrical Guide. The proscenium opening was 38 feet square, and the stage was 45 feet deep. Seating: Orchestra 618, sofas 39, 1st balcony 552, 2nd balcony 368, 12 boxes 60, 4 loges 16; total: 1,653 seats.
Emerson College did not renew Broadway in Boston’s lease for the Colonial Theatre, according to this Boston Globe article. It’s not clear what Emerson intends to produce or bring into the Colonial next season. Seems to me they already have their hands full with the Cutler Majestic and Paramount, so I find this decision puzzling.
Yes, this could easily have been the case. Sometimes in these busy arch. firms, one person designed the basic structure while another was responsible for the interior design. George Page might well have done substanial work on the Colonial project, under Blackall’s supervision.
For what it’s worth, I’ve found a single source indicating that the architect of the Colonial Theatre was George N. Page, then working in Clarence Blackall’s office. In 1902, Page moved to Cleveland, Ohio, where he opened the firm of Blackall & Page. Partner Blackall remained in Boston. The firm was listed in Cleveland directories as late as 1913, according to this web page from Cleveland’s Landmark Commission.
The source that attributes the design of the Colonial to Page is the trade journal The Ohio Architect, Engineer and Builder, in an article in the issue of September, 1911. Here is a quote:[quote]“The firm of George M. Page and J. W. C. Corbusier was formed in November, 1908, as the outgrowth of the firm of Blackall & Page.
“Both these gentlemen had their early training in the Mechanics' Institute at Rochester. N. Y., Mr. Page beginning his architectural work in Buffalo and going from there to New York City and thence to Boston where he became identified with that greatest of theater
experts, C. H. Blackall. While there he designed the famous Colonial Theater of Boston. He then came to Cleveland where his work has since become so well known.”[/quote]Given the fact that there is only this source for the attribution of the Colonial to Page, I’d be reluctant to remove the design from Blackall’s credits, but considering how busy Blackall’s firm probably was at the time, and the fact that he was willing to open a Cleveland office with Page in charge as his partner, only two years after the Colonial was built, it does seem plausible that Blackall could have let Page handle this important commission.
Here’s a street view of the Colonial Theater….
View link
Key Brand Entertainment, which I think is a British company, has purchased the operating contract for the Colonial from Live Nation. Key Brand also took over the Charles Playhouse from LN.
In the old Boston Post of Dec. 21, 1950, theater critic Elliot Norton paid tribute to the Colonial on its 50th birthday. He states that show people like it because of its large stage, ample storage space, big scene dock, many dressing rooms and large, very nice star dressing rooms on the stage level at stage-left. His brief history of the theater up to 1950 does not mention movie shows, unfortunately.
One of my favorite aspects of the Colonial is the double helix staircase that provides access to the mezzanine or the balcony, depending on which set of steps you take to start. It’s a brilliant piece of architecture and just makes a trip to the Colonial that much neater.
It showed films from time to time, not on a regular basis, from the 1910s into the 1930s, maybe into the early 1940s. (see various comments above). It has always been primarily a live theater.
Wow, thanks for that link. This is a stunning theater.
When did it stop showing movies and go back to live performance? How long did it show film?
Boston’s Colonial Theatre is a beautiful theatre, both inside and out, and a great place to see live shows, to boot. Among the live shows I’ve seen at Boston’s Colonial are Movin' Out, a revival of Oklahoma, My Fair Lady, and a stage production of West Side Story.
The url doesn’t work for the above.
The Colonial now has an offical website. There is a full history and some internal pictures. [url=http://www.bostonscolonialtheatre.com]www.bostonscolonialtheatre.com[/url]
According to her journals, Lucy Maud Montgomery (of Anne of Green Gables fame) saw D.W. Griffith’s ‘The Fall of Babylon’ starring Constance Talmadge at the Colonial on Thursday, July 10, 1919. She went with her sister-in-law Flora Eagles which whom she was staying in Braintree. She even kept the ticket stub in her scrapbook.
Here is her summary of the event: “Flora and I went into Boston this afternoon to see the much advertised ‘The Fall of Babylon.’ Like the curate’s hackneyed egg it was very good in spots. The siege of Babylon was wonderful. But the heroine, the so-called ‘mountain maid’ was nothing but a very sophisticated chorus girl and there was never for a moment a illusion of anything else.â€
In February 1938 the Henry King movie In Old Chicago, with Alice Faye, was playing at the Colonial Theatre. Here is a review from the Harvard Crimson.
The Boston Herald today reports that the Boston Redevelopment Authority has approved plans of Emerson College to convert the Colonial Theatre Building from office space to student dorm space. The theatre itself is not involved in the renovations and remains under the control of Live Nation.
Please report these errors to the site’s archivists, so they can be fixed.