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Town Hall Theater’s Grand Re-opening

Music, theater, film, dance - and Bart Simpson in person!

photo provided

Tuesday July 15, 2008

    It took ten years, hundreds of volunteers, thousands of donors, and $5,000,000, but Middlebury's 1883 Town Hall Theater will soon be open for business.

    The Queen Anne structure is on the National Historic Register, but by the late 1990's it had fallen into serious disrepair.  A community group, headed by Douglas Anderson, purchased the building and worked tirelessly for a decade to raise the funds to restore the building.

    “This is a dream come true for a lot of people,” says Anderson.  “Not only have we saved this landmark building, but we've created a state-of-the-art facility that will serve this community in many ways.”

    Plans for the building include music and theater performances, but also wedding receptions, teen dances, farmers' market, classes for kids and adults - “and anything else the community can dream up,” says Anderson.

    The re-opening festivities will cover twelve days.

    The celebration kicks off with a COMMUNITY OPEN HOUSE on Saturday, July 19, from 10 am to 2 pm.  The public is invited inside to view the Erie Volkert Mainstage Theater, the Bruce and Sue Byers Studio, the Carolyn and Will Jackson Gallery, and the many improvements to the building.   Those who remember the old building will be startled and delighted with the transformation.

    The following night, July 20, will feature Vermont filmmaker Bess O'Brien's  film of The Voices Project, SHOUT IT OUT.

    Teens take over the building for a TEEN DANCE PARTY on July 21, with DJ Dizzle and local bands.  The Middlebury Lions Club, the Middlebury Rotary, and American Legion Post 27, generous supporters of the restoration, will be honored at a SERVICE CLUB SALUTE on July 23.  
    Nancy Cartwright is an international sensation as the voice of Bart Simpson, but few people have seen the extraordinary woman who brings Bart to life each week.  Nancy - an old friend of THT director Doug Anderson - will appear in a rare performance of her one-woman show, MY LIFE AS A 10-YEAR-OLD BOY.

    “Nancy is immensely talented,” says Anderson, “and I've always loved the fact that she's the only major star who can go to the grocery store, because so few people know what she looks like.”  Bart's alter ego performs on July 25.

    The OFFICIAL GRAND RE-OPENING CELEBRATION is set for Saturday, July 26.  “This is the day we've waited ten years to see,” says Anderson.   “We'll laugh, we'll cry, and we'll all cheer this community's tremendous achievement.”   A dazzling array of local performers includes Diana Fanning, the Middlebury Community Players, the MUHS State Champion Dance Team, Banjo Dan and the Mid-nite Plowboys, and many surprise guests.   Due to ticket demand there will be two performances, at 3 pm and 7 pm.  

    Between shows, the BURLINGTON TAIKO GROUP will thunder through a free concert on the steps of the theater, beginning at 5:30 pm.  

    The VERMONT MOZART FESTIVAL comes to Middlebury on July 29 with renowned Spanish and classical guitarist Eliot Fisk, Segovia's last protégé.  The re-opening festivities conclude the next evening, July 30, as the POINT COUNTERPOINT CHAMBER PLAYERS perform Haydn, Mozart and Brahms.
On view at every event in the Jackson Gallery will be spectacular large-format photographs of Vermont hill farms by Richard W. Brown.  The gallery is also open Monday-Saturday from noon - 5 pm.

    Looking to August, the summer will end on a high note with Puccini's magnificent love story, LA BOHÈME, in a fully-staged production of the Opera Company of Middlebury, now in its fifth season (August 18-24).  

    “This marks the end of a phenomenal community effort,” says Anderson, “but it's also the beginning of a really exciting new period for downtown Middlebury.”

    Tickets may be purchased on-line at www.townhalltheater.org or by calling 802-382-9222. Tickets may be purchased in person by visiting the Town Hall Theater Box Office, Monday-Saturday, Noon - 5 pm.

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