Barre Opera House

I performed on the stage of the Barre Opera House in the summer of 1985. The Atlantic Theater Company production of THE HOTEL PLAY by Wally Shawn, directed by Sheila Welch. This play was part of Atlantic’s inaugural summer season of plays in Vermont. Other venues were located in Montpelier.

The late Donald C. King of Washington DC, author of the recent book “The Theatres of Boston – A Stage and Screen History” (McFarland), was an employee of the E.M. Loew theatre circuit of Boston beginning in the late-1930s. In December 1941, at the age of 20, he was sent by Loew to Barre as the new manager of the Barre Opera House. He like living in Barre and he loved the old Opera House ! He mentioned to me that on certain Saturdays, in addition to movies, there was a Saturday Night Barn Dance-type show on stage. He worked at the theatre for about 6 months until he enlisted in the US Army in mid-1942.