It says a lot about a community when it chooses to save a 100-year-old playhouse, recognizing the importance of the arts as well as the historic structures in their community, and is able to raise $4 million for the project. We were blessed to attend the “Encore Performance” of the refurbished Waterville Opera House and were more than impressed by the building improvements, the performances and the strong support for this important institution.

We started our evening with dinner at Mainely Brews, where the high quality of the food continues to impress us. Then it was a short stroll down Main Street to the Opera House, where a lively crowd was eager to see the “new” Opera House and enjoy the celebratory performances.

Additional Photos

George

The recent presentation at the Maine Downtown Conference of Jane Turville’s award-winning film “The Greenest Building,” demonstrated that saving and renovating historic structures is a more environmentally sound strategy than tearing them down and building a new “green” structure. That’s good news for Maine, because we have a lot of old buildings!

Turville, who has traveled the world and been a leader in applying green technology to historic buildings, said the buildings she’d seen on this, her first visit to Maine, are “phenomenal.” And she didn’t see the Waterville Opera House!

With a $2 million matching gift and a $300,000 additional capstone gift from the Harold Alfond Foundation, the opera house got a lot more than a facelift. We loved our seats in the balcony where the old seats were replaced and reconfigured (so you no longer slide sideways!).

They built an addition for new dressing rooms and restrooms and increased lobby space. Expanded backstage areas allow larger and more technically complex productions. An added freight elevator will facilitate loading in and out of shows, and upgrades  were made to the stage rigging, lighting and sound equipment. I thought the sound and acoustics were amazing.

But not as amazing as the performances. The singing and dancing was so energetic that I wanted to leap from the balcony and join the fun! The Bossov Ballet Theater presented an astonishing circus. And we got a great preview of the films scheduled for the Maine International Film Festival to be held July 13-22 at the opera house. Honestly, we enjoyed the film previews so much we’re planning to return to see every one of these films.

I especially liked Marilyn Canavan’s two-page history of the opera house, included with the evening’s program. “For just 10 cents, the Saturday afternoon matinee presented two movies, short subjects, newsreels and one cartoon. Newsreels were there to show us events that were happening outside our insular little community. We learned about the Great Depression and Roosevelt’s New Deal. We watched bombs shatter dreams on Pearl Harbor. All through the Second World War we followed the progress of GIs; with each victory, we stomped and yelled until the theater shook.”

The opera house has an impressive list of presentations scheduled from early June to mid-December, plus Summer Theater Camp for those young, budding actors and actresses in your family. Ticket prices are amazingly low, while the quality of performances is high — a great combination for those who love value along with their theater experiences. And what a building!

Mainely Brews

Luke Duplessis continues to provide high-quality food and a family-friendly environment at Waterville’s Mainely Brews, located in the old Post Office on Main Street. Sandy, the manager and our server, was very diligent about watching the time to make sure we made it to the opera house on time.

This place specializes in laughter. It’s really informal, with good service and great food. I loved the Blacked Fish Tacos — with a very nice spicy sweet sauce. The fish was tilapia, and the red cabbage added crunch.

Lin’s in a rut. Just as she did on our first visit here, she ordered beef tips — very flavorful with wild mushrooms in a demiglace.

Well, we’re both in a rut, I guess, because we also ordered, again, the Southwest Chicken Rollups — one of the best appetizers we’ve had since we started this column a year and a half ago. The rollups include beans, corn and other veggies, and cheese, but it’s the dipping sauce that makes this dish addictive. I’m sure we’ll have it next time, too!

Linda

After its new renovations, the Waterville Opera House is looking pretty spiffy! Each year, our school sends groups of students to see a play here. We were one of the last groups in before they closed for renovations, and I certainly missed going while they renovated. The flyer is out for next year’s productions and they look great.

I’ve always pointed out the elaborate structure of the building — its beautiful balcony and carved woodwork. Even first-graders understand they are in a very special building.

But now, with its new color scheme of chocolate brown up in the balcony seating and rich red on the main floor, this space is spectacular. When the first song of the evening started, the addition of surround sound was loud and clear!

High-tech lighting and a larger stage with layers of curtains that float down are bound to enhance future productions. More renovations are planned within the next year. New windows will be added to let in natural light for some performances.

The opening night show featured songs from a variety of performances from years past. Every voice showed an impressive level of talent — amazing voices from mostly local actors.

I’m sorry we missed all those wonderful shows, but we’ll be looking forward to attending now that we know we can go to a great show practically in our neighborhood.

IF YOU GO . . .

WATERVILLE OPERA HOUSE
www.operahouse.org
873-7000
Next up: “I Hate Hamlet,” a Paul Rudnick comedy, June 1,2,8,9 at 7:30 p.m. and June 3 and 10 at 2 p.m. Adults $12. Seniors and youths $10.

MAINELY BREWS
www.mainelybrews.com
873-2457
Open 11 a.m. – 1 a.m. every day, with nightly entertainment and daily specials including their popular $6 burgers on Tuesdays and 2-for-1 pizzas on Wednesdays.

Visit George’s website: www.george
smithmaine.com for travel tips, book reviews, outdoor news and more.