Town Players of Pittsfield, Inc.
P.O. Box 765, Pittsfield, MA 01201-0765
Bringing the Best of Broadway to the Berkshires
Since 1921

Colonial Theatre

Colonial Theatre
TRIBUTE

© Illustration by Robert Boland

The Colonial Theatre opened on September 28, 1903 with "Robin Hood" performed by The Bostonians opera company. 

The Colonial was the premiere theater of Pittsfield and hosted many of the great performers of the day on its stage. Among the many great performers that were in its spotlight were George M Cohan, Sara Bernhardt, John Barrymore, Eubie Blake, Douglas Fairbanks Sr., Billie Burke, John Phillips Sousa and the Ziegfield Follies. In later days even the Three Stooges performed on its grand stage. 

The Colonial Theatre was sold to the Goldstein Brothers (Western Massachusetts Theaters) who operated it as a movie house. It showed second run movies with occasional stage productions. One of these stage productions was a production of "Abie's Irish Rose" which graced its stage in April of 1945. 

After world War II, television started to erode the audience of the movies. The showing of scheduled movies decreased as the audience decreased for the large theater. The last time the lights graced the Colonial's stage was a benefit for the Eagle Santa Toy Fund on Dec 21, 1952. Town Players was one of the performers on that night with a one act play called "Curse You, Jack Dalton".

Ten days later, the Goldstein's sold the theater to George Miller for $55,000.00 even though the Miller's bid for the theater was the lowest of four. The Goldstein's sold the theater to them because they were the only one of the four who didn't want to tear it down. George Miller realized the future potential of the theater and decided to protected much of its grand architecture in the conversion of the theater into Miller's Art Supply. The store is still operated by the Miller family, now by George Miller's son Stephen. The Miller's extraordinary care of the building is one of the reasons that it has become part of the catalyst for Pittsfield's downtown economic revival via the Gateway project. 

Restoration of the Colonial to its former glory has been a long and hard road. During the development of the Pittsfield 200^th Anniversary Party Celebration as its incorporation as a town, Robert Boland and others discussed the possibility of restoring the Colonial. Despite commitments from area businesses, it was turned down by the City Council. The theater's restoration came up again in 1982 when the city considered building a performing arts center or civic center. Although the Palace Theater was the initial site under consideration, a consultant on the project, Louis Flemming, indicated that the Colonial was among the finest theaters of its kind in the world and should be part of the study.

Under the guidance of Robert Boland, Mayor Edward Reilly and the Friends of the Colonial Theatre, a plan to revitalize the theater as part of the Pittsfield Gateway project is beginning to see some support. Senator Andrea Nuciforo Jr. is helping secure a bond authorization for the "Gateway" area surrounding the theater with money specifically targeted for the Colonial restoration. Advocates hope that the recent visit of the First Lady Hillary Clinton on July 14^th, 1998 will spur further support from politicians and from the public. As part of that effort, tours of the theater are being offered to reintroduce the theater to the public.

Some of the highlights that can be seen during the theater tour are :

• Three levels of seating : Orchestra and two balconies.
• The furthest seats are no further that 80 feet from the stage.
• Above the stage is a 50 foot high dome with a sounding board that features a water color of a seated woman surrounded by other characters (See painting Below). The dome was damaged by a roof leak (Snow melt damage).
• The balconies have plaster bias relief cherubs called "putti".
• Elaborately decorated columns are through out the theater. some of these columns can be seen inside the Miller's paint and art supply store.

Tours of the Colonial Theater are sometimes available. The tour lasts for approximately 45 minutes.

Views of the Colonial Theatre

Box seats

© Photograph by Robert Boland

Illustration of how the dome may have appeared in the past. Continued research into the original painter will be needed to determine how the original dome painting appeared before actual restoration is begun. 

© Illustration by Robert Boland

Detail of dome illustration to see how the restored area could appear 
after the water damage is repaired. 

© Illustration by Robert Boland