This was originally posted on After the Final Curtain’s Patreon in 2024. For expanded early posts, as well as video walkthroughs and other exclusive content, you can become a patron at: https://www.patreon.com/afterthefinalcurtain

The Colonial Theatre in Boston is one of the last real-deal playhouses in the country. Built in 1900 by Clarence Blackall, it opened with Ben-Hur—complete with live horses on stage, because why not start with chaos? Winston Churchill was reportedly in the audience on opening night, probably wondering what kind of people put livestock in their cultural institutions. Over the next century, the Colonial hosted pre-Broadway runs of Oklahoma!, Porgy and Bess, Follies, A Little Night Music, and La Cage aux Folles. Basically, if it made it big, it probably tried out here first.

Emerson College leased the place in 2003, bought it in 2006, and in 2015, they floated the wildly unpopular idea of converting the auditorium into a student dining hall. Because nothing says “theatrical legacy” like pizza under a faux-Tiffany chandelier. After a loud public backlash—including 7,000 petition signatures and protest letters from people like Stephen Sondheim and Frank Rich—Emerson backed off.

After a major renovation, it reopened in 2018 and Moulin Rouge! kicked off its pre-Broadway run here the following year—yes, with all the glitter, drama, and excess you’d expect. Which made standing around for 20 minutes trying to photograph the place while dodging conclave attendees absolutely worth it. Especially when half the crowd was unknowingly blocking a ceiling that’s more detailed than most cathedrals.