The Capitol Center for the Arts is an entertainment venue in

Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...

, New Hampshire, United States, which features a 1,304-seat theatre designed with an Egyptian motif. The center opened in its current form in 1995 after a multiyear renovation of the Capitol Theatre, which had existed in the same location from 1927 to 1989. The theatre is equipped to host major Broadway shows, and has played host to the Billy Joel musical ''Movin' Out'', pianist George Winston, and humorist

David Sedaris David Raymond Sedaris (; born December 26, 1956) is an American humorist, comedian, author, and radio contributor. He was publicly recognized in 1992 when National Public Radio broadcast his essay " Santaland Diaries.” He published his first c ...

. The renovation of the Capitol Center was made possible by $4.2 million in donations received for the then-newly formed center, with Chubb Life providing the majority of the support. The Chubb Theatre was named in honor of the company that made the center possible. Volunteers, some 250 of them, also contributed 3,000 hours of service to repaint the interior and restore the Egyptian motif. Paul Hodes, who subsequently became a

congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

from New Hampshire, was also instrumental in the renovation and reopening of the center, heading up the effort at the urging of fellow lawyer and patron of the arts Martin L. Gross of Concord.

History

The Capitol Theatre, as well as the Star Theatre around the corner, were part of a chain owned by

Joseph P. Kennedy Joseph Patrick Kennedy (September 6, 1888 – November 18, 1969) was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He is known for his own political prominence as well as that of his children and was the patriarch of the Irish-American Ken ...

's Maine-New Hampshire Theatres Co. In a piece written in 2011, remembering back to the 1950s and '60s, Paul E. Brogan wrote that "the Capitol Theatre still bore signs of the elegance and lushness that had earned it acclaim when it opened, replete with a pipe organ and stage presentations before the film."

References

External links

Capitol Center for the Arts
Performing arts centers in New Hampshire Concert halls in the United States Theatres in New Hampshire Music venues in New Hampshire Buildings and structures in Concord, New Hampshire Tourist attractions in Concord, New Hampshire {{US-theat-struct-stub