Here, photographed in warmer days, is the Briggs Opera House of White River Junction, Vermont. It is a small, but vibrant, theater nestled in a great battleship of a building, the Gates-Briggs Building on North Main Street.
The building has stood here since 1890, and the theater, once called the Gates Opera House, was for many decades home to concerts, rallies, ceremonies, boxing and other sports, community theatre, and survived a fallow period from the mid 1980s until 1997 when the Northern Stage theatre company took over.
Any community is fortunate to have live theater, especially so to have it grace a stately building right in its downtown.
The Northern Stage produces a full season of plays and musicals. Its current show, “Annie” runs through this Sunday, January 8th.
Here’s the remainder of the season:
“Les Liaisons Dangereuses”
by Christopher Hampton, from the novel by Choderlos de Laclos
January 18 - February 5, 2012
As the French Revolution approaches, a treacherous man and woman devise a cruel game intended to betray a married woman and a young lady fresh from a convent.
“M. Butterfly”
by Henry David Hwang
February 15 - March 4, 2012
A French diplomat, caught up in the swirl of Maoist China in the 1960s, becomes obsessed with a Chinese opera performer, leading to mystery, diplomatic intrigue and a star-crossed 20-year romance. Based on real events, this Broadway sensation won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Play and was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
“Red”
by John Logan
March 14 - April 1, 2012
New York, 1958. In a tension-filled studio, painter Mark Rothko works furiously to complete a definitive work for an extraordinary setting. As the huge project takes shape, his internal struggle to reconcile his growing wealth with his artistic integrity threatens to destroy him.
“Chicago”
Book by Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse, Music by John Kander, Lyrics by Fred Ebb, based on the play by Maurine Dallas Watkins
April 11 - May 6, 2012
Shocking secrets are revealed in this story of crime, greed and corruption. Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly, showgirls convicted of murder, fight for attention in the press. From "All That Jazz" to "Razzle Dazzle," the songs are as hot as the Prohibition-era setting.
For more on Northern Stage, have a look at this website.
Interesting! Tho I grew up right down I-91 from White River Jct, I never knew about this place. Glad to hear its an ongoing presence in the community!
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