Brogan: The Little Theater that Could ...

CONCORD, NH — The recent news that Steve Duprey and The Capitol Center for the Arts are teaming up with a hope and plan to not only save but restore the historic Concord Theatre comes as very good news. Both have a track record of bringing much to our community and balancing the past, present and future in such a way that it bodes well for this project coming to fruition.

It also means that Concord will have yet another performance space thereby increasing the opportunities for locals and visitors to be exposed to even more entertainment options. For me, personally, it means that a place I was associated with and worked at for over 27 years and have championed in the past 23 years since it closed it's doors, may once again come alive with the sound of satisfied audiences.

While all of this is exciting, there is another reason that saving the Concord Theatre matters and that is because of the rich and varied history of this downtown mainstay.

When the Concord Theatre opened as a movie house in October of 1933, the building had been part of our downtown landscape since the mid-1800's when it was first built and served as the Norris Bakery for many years. Immediately prior to 1933, however, it had been empty and was purchased by a Mr. Cantin, a Manchester contractor and Mr. Charbonneau, who owned several theaters in the Manchester area. They were joining forces to bring a new movie theater to Concord. At the time the city boasted two film palaces - The Capitol Theater on South Main Street and the Star Theatre on Pleasant Street. Both were part of the Maine-NH Theaters Company, owned by Joseph Kennedy.

Mr. Cantin converted the building into a theater and he partnered with Mr. Charbonneau on all aspects of the project. Mr. Cantin's 19 year old daughter, Theresa, was installed as ticket seller and bookkeeper. For the next 61 years, Theresa Cantin worked daily at the theater, buying out Mr. Chabonneau in 1947 because she was tired of the types of films sometimes being shown from what were known as "Poverty Row Studios". She wanted a shot at playing some of the big films - first-run - from MGM, Paramount, 20th Century Fox and Warner Brothers.

Mr. Kennedy and his business partner, Mr. Ford, told Theresa that "...women belong in the ticket booth or selling popcorn but not owning and running theaters....." It only further fired her passion and when the first film she played after taking over - "The Best Years of Our Life" - broke box-office records, she knew she could make it in what was typically a man's network. Most theater managers, the salesmen from the studios and the theater owners were all male and they rebuked Theresa at every opportunity. She persevered, however, and a salesman from one of the studios told her many years later that "No woman in history has ever run a first-run, independent movie theater for as many years as you have....." She was a pioneer in not only owning the theater but also selling tickets, working the concession stand, meeting with film bookers and salesmen while scheduling future films, doing her own bookkeeping and creating the ads that would run in the local newspaper. She did everything except run the projectors.

Over the course of its history, nearly a million and a half tickets were sold and tens of thousands of films lit up the theater's silver screen. In the early days, films changed two or three times a week. That changed in the 50's and it was not uncommon for a film like "Lawrence of Arabia" or "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" to play for several weeks. The film with the longest run was the 1979 comedy "10" which played for 9 weeks. In early 1968, "Valley of the Dolls" sold well over 15,000 tickets during a 5 week engagement. Theresa carefully balanced popular commercial films ("Rocky", "Animal House", etc). with more serious fare ("The Trojan Women", "The Piano" and "The Crying Game" among them).

Bouts with cancer and Macular Degeneration failed to keep Theresa from her customary spot where she greeted customers, often by name, as they entered the theater.

When I first started working there as a young teen, I was amazed to find that, thanks to my knowledge and passion for film, she treated me more like a contemporary and often asked my advice on what we should play. It was a friendship that continued even after the theater closed in late summer of 1994. Until her passing in early 1998, we chatted at least once a week and often about movies.

Two years ago Concord marked it's 250th birthday but there was nary a mention of Theresa Cantin or the Concord Theatre. Despite my efforts, she was not deemed important enough to be included in a book about Legendary Locals. I hope, however, that the 61 years she devoted to trying to bring varied entertainment to our community, will not be forgotten. The Concord Theatre and Theresa Cantin were synonymous as part of a city that was filled with individuals who owned businesses and made every effort to make Concord the best place to live and to work.

Long before we had the Red River Theater as an independent film emporium, something extraordinary happened at 18 1/2 South Main Street for over six decades. I hope when this project is completed and we are celebrating the opportunities it brings with it, that a plaque notes that on this location, a woman fought against all the odds and did something quite remarkable. She left an indelible mark on Concord.