Film Thrives As It Always Has At Movie Theaters (Pt. 2)
Movie theaters near Portsmouth, New Hampshire are pretty modern today, but the history of theater in New England goes back a long way. The first public performance pieces in the area probably originated centuries ago amongst Native American tribes. The first European settlers, on the other hand, had a strict religious opposition to any theatrical display. To most Puritans, God and the Bible were considered sufficient to wholly occupy one's leisure time and also felt that "disguise is sinful." The popularity of the theater increased in direct relation to the changing political landscape during the American Revolution era, as a dissatisfied public had developed an appetite for performances of open opposition to British rule. Both the religious and the political authorities took exception to the use of the theater to spread dissent, drawing citizens away from work and church. Under a cultural suppression from both religious and political forces—well beyond the Declaration of Independence was drafted, the theater's development in states like New Hampshire was progressed more slowly than in other areas.
The nineteenth century brought change, however, and growing interest in theater matched the growth in new American cultural institutions. This did not come without hurdles, namely that new theaters would often be incinerated, whether from carelessness or from arson. W.H. Smith wrote "The Drunkard" in 1844 to great acclaim, which would carry on performances of the play for decades. Such success stories developed the arts in New England culture and New England began building playhouses and filling them with well-known performers. New England boasted its own regional film companies by the dawn of the twentieth century, including Rhode Island's Eastern Film Corporation, the Photoplay Corporation in Massachusetts, and Dirigo Pictures and Pine Tree Pictures in Maine. }
The twentieth century brought the cultural movement known as the "American Renaissance." The movement built upon the wealth of the region's literature, celebrating and expanding upon the works of Louisa May Alcott, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne especially seemed to draw the attention of filmmakers and his The Scarlet Letter was adapted to film in 1909, 1917, 1926, and 1934. The New England author with the most film adaptations, however, may be Henry James, with at least fifteen films to his name, including The Bostonians (1984), The Europeans (1979), The Green Room (1978), The Portrait of a Lady, and The Innocents (1961) (based on his novella "The Turn of the Screw"). Historians have observed in the work of both men a representation of the New England landscape. The look of New England has continued to be used by directors into the present, taking advantage of the contrasting landforms and seasonal weather.
New England theater itself, of course, had a strong influence on early eras of film. One of the most well represented playwrights on film is Eugene O'Neill who has frequently had his work developed for film and television. The play "Our Town" by New England playwright Thornton Wilder achieved success when it was made into a movie in 1940. The film version was shot on location in Peterborough, New Hampshire, the town which inspired the play to be written. New England's way of life are especially presented at the forefront of the works by these two men. 1915's The Old Homestead perfectly played up this dichotomy of quaint village life and modern metropolises existing almost on top of each other. Playwright and actor Denman Thompson's four-act play was performed for decades and eventually made into a motion picture.
Theater continues to play an important role to this day because in many areas of rural New England the nearest movie theater may be the local opera house or museum and not a multiplex cinema. This brief history hopefully has given you something to think about while you sit in a New Hampshire movie theater waiting for the show to start.
D-Box Motion Seats Bringing Theaters Into The Future D-Box Motion Seating Bringing Theaters Into The Future
