Boston's Theater District

Boston's Theater District PDF Author: Dale Stinchcomb
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467105899
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Downtown Boston once thrived as a dazzling bohemia of burlesque halls, movie palaces, dime museums, and regal stages. By 1915, more than 20 theaters crowded along a quarter-mile stretch of lower Washington Street. The theater district gave birth to vaudeville and incubated some of America's most darling musicals and daring new dramas en route to Broadway. Theatergoers flocked to Tremont and Boylston Streets to watch the latest tryouts. Some productions flopped; others, like Oklahoma! and Paul Robeson's Othello, were runaway hits. Still others earned the coveted seal of disapproval, "Banned in Boston," from zealous city censors. Overrun by seedy venues in the 1970s, the Combat Zone, as it came to be known, seemed to justify old Puritan fears that the stage would corrupt public morals. Only in recent years has the district rebounded through careful restoration of storied playhouses like the Boston Opera House, the Majestic, and the Colonial--grand vestiges of a booming cultural corridor still vibrant today.

Boston's Theater District

Boston's Theater District PDF Author: Dale Stinchcomb
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing
ISBN: 1467105899
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
Downtown Boston once thrived as a dazzling bohemia of burlesque halls, movie palaces, dime museums, and regal stages. By 1915, more than 20 theaters crowded along a quarter-mile stretch of lower Washington Street. The theater district gave birth to vaudeville and incubated some of America's most darling musicals and daring new dramas en route to Broadway. Theatergoers flocked to Tremont and Boylston Streets to watch the latest tryouts. Some productions flopped; others, like Oklahoma! and Paul Robeson's Othello, were runaway hits. Still others earned the coveted seal of disapproval, "Banned in Boston," from zealous city censors. Overrun by seedy venues in the 1970s, the Combat Zone, as it came to be known, seemed to justify old Puritan fears that the stage would corrupt public morals. Only in recent years has the district rebounded through careful restoration of storied playhouses like the Boston Opera House, the Majestic, and the Colonial--grand vestiges of a booming cultural corridor still vibrant today.

The Boston Theater District

The Boston Theater District PDF Author:
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Boston (Mass.)
Languages : en
Pages : 12

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Where's the Theater District

Where's the Theater District PDF Author: Kristin Hodgkins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Boston (Mass.)
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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Where is the Theatre District?

Where is the Theatre District? PDF Author: Kristin Hodgkins
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Boston (Mass.)
Languages : en
Pages : 118

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The Theatres of Boston

The Theatres of Boston PDF Author: Donald C. King
Publisher: McFarland
ISBN: 9780786438747
Category : Performing Arts
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
The theatre had a difficult time establishing itself in Massachusetts. Colonial authorities in Boston were adamantly opposed to theatrical amusements of any kind. In the mid-eighteenth century, even theatricals performed in the homes of private citizens aroused the indignant ire of puritanically minded authorities. In 1750 the General Court of Massachusetts passed an act prohibiting stage plays or any other theatrical entertainment. In 1762, the New Hampshire House of Representatives refused a theatre troupe admission to the town of Portsmouth on the ground that plays had a "peculiar influence on the minds of young people and greatly endangered their morals by giving them a taste for intriguing amusement and pleasure." The first public dramatic performance in Boston was produced at a coffeehouse on State Street by two English actors and some local volunteers. In 1775 General John Burgoyne, himself an actor and playwright, converted Boston's Faneuil Hall into a theatre, where he presented, among other pieces, The Blockade of Boston. After the Revolutionary War, in February 1794, the dramatic history of Boston may be said to have begun with the opening of the Boston Theatre. The history of Boston theatres from the eighteenth century through the present is covered in this well illustrated work. Although the theatre had a somewhat rocky beginning, by 1841 more than 15 theatre houses--including the Boston Theatre, Concert Hall, Merchants Hall, Boylston Hall, the Washington Gardens Amphitheatre, the Tremont Theatre, the Washington Theatre, the American Amphitheatre, the Federal Street Theatre, Mr. Saubert's Theatre, the Lion Theatre, the National Theatre (which boasted gas lighting), and the Howard Athenaeum--were all established. After these first theatres paved the way and puritanical restraint had been overcome, the public's enthusiasm for varied entertainment prevailed and theatres proliferated in the city. This book details the long and storied history of Boston theatre construction, alteration, restoration, and, in many cases, destruction. Information is also provided about building architecture, types of performances, ticket prices and other interesting data about each theatre's history.

The Boston Theatre District Association Presents The First Annual Elliot Norton Award

The Boston Theatre District Association Presents The First Annual Elliot Norton Award PDF Author: Boston Theatre District Association
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Theater
Languages : en
Pages : 50

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Boston's Theatre District

Boston's Theatre District PDF Author: Boston Redevelopment Authority
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Boston (Mass.)
Languages : en
Pages : 43

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Boston Theatre District

Boston Theatre District PDF Author: Boston Preservation Alliance
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Boston (Mass.)
Languages : en
Pages : 27

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A Walking Tour of the Boston Theatre District

A Walking Tour of the Boston Theatre District PDF Author: Fredric Woodbridge Wilson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Boston (Mass.)
Languages : en
Pages : 62

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Theatre and Entertainment District (Classic Reprint)

Theatre and Entertainment District (Classic Reprint) PDF Author: Boston Redevelopment Authority
Publisher: Forgotten Books
ISBN: 9780666480675
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 82

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Book Description
Excerpt from Theatre and Entertainment District This report was funded jointly by The Ford Foundation and the Boston Redevelopment Authority to assist in implementation of a comprehensive master plan for the revitalization of Boston's Theatre District. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.