The fifth chapter of Bite-Sized History begins when Frank Jones buys and renovates The Music Hall, then promptly dies. H.W. Hartford purchases the theater, which goes on to host famous touring companies and local acts. Also, hear about the theater's role in the Russo-Japanese peace treaty of 1905. Read More
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From the ashes of the Temple, The Music Hall rises as Portsmouth’s first purpose-built theater. See the entertainments of the day - including minstrel shows - and the purchase of the theater by none other than Frank Jones.Read More
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The short video series, Bite-Sized History, continues with two new chapters on the history of theater and music in Portsmouth, leading up to The Music Hall as we know it today. Read More
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We are thrilled to share a project that we have been working on with author and historian J. Dennis Robinson and filmmaker Jay Childs, who together produced eight short video chapters of The Music Hall’s history.Read More
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Good fortune often falls on The Music Hall. A year before COVID-19 hit, a small committee—led by Gail VanHoy Carolan, our Director of Institutional Advancement, and Mike Pilot as honorary chair—was raising funds for an Infrastructure campaign, where the most urgent of those needs was replacing an antiquated HVAC system.Read More
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This Valentine’s Day, it’s time to share our love and appreciation. For you, our members. For our major donors and Corporate Partners. For our state representatives who allocated CARES Act funds to The Music Hall and fought for the Save Our Stages Act. For everyone who contributed to our Emergency Relief Fund. For those of you who weren’t able to contribute, but stayed in touch.Read More
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There’s a new way to support The Music Hall while satisfying your need for comfy clothes. That’s right, I’m talking about Music Hall merchandise. Of course, branded Music Hall gear is not new. We’ve had chic messenger bags and silk scarves for a few years now. But pandemic fashion doesn’t really call for such high-end haberdashery, and so once again The Music Hall has adapted for the times.Read More
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The Stage Door Cabaret series is an out-of-the-box way of addressing the challenges of operating a 900-seat theater during a pandemic and as we went about creating it, we realized The Music Hall has interesting histories on both parts of the series’ title “Stage Door” and “Cabaret”! Read More
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