Maine State Music Theatre in Brunswick, Cumberland County, United States | Music

Welcome to the Maine State Music Theatre, Brunswick, Maine, United States. 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.
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.
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.
Challenging years faced Maine State Music Theatre 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 Maine State Music Theatre. 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.