Casino Theatre
9 Freebody Street,
Newport,
RI
02840
9 Freebody Street,
Newport,
RI
02840
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This theatre should be listed as open.
Last week, on July 13, I attended a concert at the Casino Theatre, part of the Newport Music Festival dedicated to chamber music events each year. The concert, entitled “Notturno,” was well-attended. The opportunity to see close-up again this beautiful music box of a theatre was very much appreciated by all those present. The last time I had been inside was in the early 1980s.
Not sure, but I don’t think so.
There is a Casino restoration website. Perhaps that info will appear here at some point.
http://www.thestanfordwhitecasino.com/
Gerald, do you know if the Casino has re-opened? If it has, do you know what events are being scheduled there?
Site manager, thanks for the prompt response to my Stanford White request!
Gerard, thanks so much for the pictures and the article. This theater certainly means a lot to you. Since I am familiar with the Tennis Hall of Fame, I will look up the theater the next time I visit Newport.
The fact that the Casino was designed by Stanford White – and that it is his only theater that still exists – is really valuable information. It is also clearly documented in the article. Thus, the Casino’s architect is clearly not “Unknown”, and the site manager should accordingly add the great man’s name at the top of this page.
The Casino Theatre is scheduled to re-open, after an extensive restoration. READ ARTICLE
Four lovely photos of the interior of the Casino Theatre, an unknown treasure of Rhode Island.
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FOUR
That Flickers showing of The Shop on Main Street that I saw was on May 5, 1983. The film society was run, if I am not wrong, by George Marshall, who has been heading the R.I. International Film Festival for nearly a decade. Flickers also used other venues, including the Jane Pickens Theatre and a second floor hall off Washington Square that I forget the name of.
Here are some photos of the Casino Theatre as it is now.
VIEW FROM FREEBODY STREET
SIDE, LOOKING TOWARD FREEBODY STREET
REAR ENTRANCE
VAN ALEN PLAQUE
MAIN ENTRANCE AT SIDE
The Newport Daily News microfilm revealed regular movie programs here, as well as vaudeville acts, during the years before World War I. The place was then named Freebody Park Theatre. In November of 1939 a “gala opening” was announced for the theatre with a double bill of 3 Smart Girls Grow Up & Gunga Din. The theatre then closed only weeks after that. An ad said the Casino would be closed for alterations and that “We will re-open about January 1st.” It was signed by manager H. Pastman. There were no re-opening ads until the following summer when it opened as the Casino Civic Theatre with a summer season of live theatre.
The theatre was used in the early 1980s or thereabouts by Flickers, the Newport Film Society, for some of its 16mm film programs. I saw The Shop on Main Street there in that series. I’ve also been to at least one chamber music concert here. The place really is a true Newport treasure but has always seemed to be under-utilized, at least in recent years. I am told it is undergoing restoration. So we may hear more about it soon. The place seems like a natural for the Newport Music Festival, a summer chamber music festival that uses the mansions, and may even have been used for it in the past. I am trying to delve further into the place’s history. The Tennis Hall of Fame website contains some information on the Casino and the surrounding grounds and buildings. www.tennisfame.com