Maine State Music Theatre History
1959: Brunswick Summer Playhouse
Victoria Crandall, affectionately known as Vicki, opened her summer playhouse
in the Pickard Theater on the Bowdoin College campus in 1959 with a production of The Song of Norway. It was an adventurous undertaking in many ways:
Vicki was a woman working in a field dominated by men and she was producing
nine shows, one per week, all with full sets, costumes and chorus. The following
year she reduced the number of productions to seven, running two shows for two
weeks at a time. Vicki’s audiences were building rapidly.
1967: A subtle but significant title change: Brunswick Music Theatre
By the late '60s, Maine was filled with summer playhouses. In fact, the entire
New England area was saturated with theatres that made up the Straw Hat Circuit, as The New York Times called it. Many of these playhouses featured TV and
film stars in romantic comedies, but few were exclusively musical theatre houses.
1970s: Our theatre becomes non-profit
Changing the Theatre to a non-profit organization focused its commitment
to develop and expand an intern program that would educate and train young
artists in theatre crafts. By the mid-'70s, the Theatre had reduced the number of
productions to five, running four of these shows for two weeks and one musical
for three weeks.
1988: A name for then and now
In 1988, Brunswick Music Theatre celebrated 30 years of bringing professional
musical theatre to the people of Maine. Governor John R. McKernan presented
an award to founder Vicki Crandall citing her for this significant achievement. In
that year our name changed to Maine State Music Theatre to reflect a patronage
which had grown significantly beyond the mid-coast region. By the late '80s the
number of Equity theatres in the state had dwindled to half what had existed in
the early '60s. There were few exclusively musical houses remaining nationwide,
and none as intimate as Pickard Theater.
1990s: Metamorphosis
MSMT celebrated its 40th birthday in 1998. Beginning in the fall of '98, an $11
million renovation project of Pickard Theater was undertaken and completed just
in time for our 2000 Summer Season. While retaining its historic elements, the
theater was thoroughly modernized from within. Air-conditioning was installed
along with new seating and other amenities to make the theatergoing experience
even more pleasurable.
2000s: Stay tuned!
Challenging years faced MSMT with an escalating housing crisis prompted by
limited availability and prohibitive costs. When the Theatre was given an opportunity to move to the Gorham Campus of the University of Southern Maine, the
Board of Trustees made a strong commitment to the community of Brunswick
and is now forging ahead with ambitious plans to make this option viable for the
long-term. The most important development is the purchase and renovation of a
beautiful permanent home for MSMT. The building at 22 Elm Street houses the
administrative offices as well as technical and rehearsal space. Solidly rooted in
our art and in our community, we look confidently ahead to a bright and exciting
future – not to mention a number of very exciting events and programs to mark our
50th anniversary in 2008!
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