Colonial Theatre reopens to rave reviews

LACONIA — With his shop on Canal Street, cobbler Jim Daubenspeck had a front row seat to the year-plus construction project to bring the historic Colonial Theatre back to its original glory. On Thursday night, he took in a different kind of show, as one of the several hundred people who bought tickets to the first performance since the renovation was completed.

Asked how it felt to see the renovation conclude and the theater open, Daubenspeck exclaimed, “Praise the Lord!”

The renovation period was a trying time for Daubenspeck, as the contractor Bonnette, Page and Stone used Canal Street as a staging area for the project. Daubenspeck lauded the construction firm for its efforts to minimize the impact on nearby businesses, and for encouraging its workers to spend some of their paychecks to buy boots, coffee and sandwiches downtown – which they did, he said.

Even so, “Perception is reality, Daubenspeck said. "If it looks like the streets are closed, people avoid it.” The renovation began at the end of 2019, and is now complete, save for a couple of storefronts on Main Street, which will be ready soon. “Seeing the theater open to the public last night was tremendous.”

He was impressed by the result of all those months of work, too. “Beautiful, wonderful, wonderful job they did. Tremendous, definitely uptown.”

The Colonial was built in 1914 as a premier vaudeville venue. It was repurposed as a movie theater in the 1930s, and by the time it closed in 2002, it had been divided into a five-room cineplex. The $14.4 million restoration project was a partnership between the city and the Belknap Economic Development Council. Spectacle Management, which operates seven performance venues in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, manages the theater, while Powerhouse Collaborative is bringing theater to the Colonial’s stage.

The first act is comedian Bob Marley, who is scheduled to perform seven shows from Thursday night through Sunday. Brandon Caron, director of strategy and business development for Spectacle, said ticket sales have been brisk. The Friday and Saturday shows are all but sold-out, and as of Friday afternoon, he said there were still some seats available for Marley’s Sunday show. Up next will be a Powerhouse production of Neil Simon’s “The Dinner Party,” Aug. 13-15.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised by the support of the community, both for our shows and Powerhouse,” said Caron. He said audience members at Thursday’s premier had a common reaction. “So many folks only saw it as a multiplex theater,” Caron said. “People are stunned, and to have name-brand and first-class talent coming to Main Street has people excited.”

Mayor Andrew Hosmer wasn’t among that first audience – he plans to see Marley this weekend. But word has reached him from those who attended Thursday’s show.

“What I’ve heard has been an overwhelming response to how beautiful the renovation work has been in the theater. I am pleased that people have been so impressed. The city was part of a large group that put an awful lot of work into that theater,” Hosmer said.

He and City Manager Scott Myers were curious to see how the 700 or so audience members would park for the show. They found that Main Street spots were full, as were those on Canal Street, and the rest were able to get spots in the municipal lots at City Hall, in the lot between Main and Pleasant streets, or in the lot behind St. Joseph Church.

“There are always going to be a few kinks that we’ll need to iron out,” Hosmer said. “We want to be sure that people can park in close proximity to the Colonial, and we want to make sure it’s well lighted, and they can travel safely from their cars over to the theater.”

He predicted that the reopening of the Colonial will be seen a landmark occasion for economic development downtown.

“The impact that this is going to have is going to be really significant,” Hosmer said. “Any time we can bring, 600, 700, 800 people downtown for a show, that is going to have a positive impact on people that serve refreshments and food,” he said, adding that there has been increased interest in nearby downtown real estate.

“I think this is going to have a ripple effect, with all the venues popping up around town," Hosmer said. "We are going to get a reputation as a place that has an awful lot of entertainment going on.”

Entertainment is what Jim Roach does. He helps produce live entertainment, and was part of the team that put on Marley’s performance Thursday night. The theater that he saw was a far cry from what he encountered the first time he saw the Colonial.

“About 10 years ago, my wife and I were driving through Laconia and there was a for-sale sign in the window. I talked someone into giving me a tour of the room,” Roach said. At the time, it was still divided up into several projection rooms. “They had covered up this goddess underneath. When you’re in that room now and see what was hidden under the plywood and two-by-fours is just stunning.”

In any performance, the venue is as important as the talent on stage, and Roach said the Colonial is a special kind of space.

“They were built before real audio was used in theaters. Acoustically, the room is wonderful,” Roach said. “The balcony is very close to the stage, there’s not a bad seat in the house, and it plays really well.” He said the arrangement of seating makes possible an “intimate experience” between performer and audience.

“The city of Laconia, Spectacle Management, have worked together to bring this beauty back to life. Everybody needs to see this place,” Roach said.