Goodspeed Opera House
The Goodspeed Opera House from the Connecticut River
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| Address | 6 Main Street East Haddam, Connecticut United States |
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| Owner | Goodspeed Musicals |
| Type | Regional theatre |
| Construction | |
| Opened | October 24, 1877 |
| Reopened | June 8, 1963 |
| Website | |
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Goodspeed Opera House
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| Coordinates | 41°27′6.33″N 72°27′45.06″W / 41.4517583°N 72.4625167°WCoordinates: 41°27′6.33″N 72°27′45.06″W / 41.4517583°N 72.4625167°W |
| Built | 1876-77 |
| Architect | Jabez Comstock |
| Part of | East Haddam Historic District (#83001273) |
| NRHP Reference # | 71000901 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | July 30, 1971 |
| Designated CP | April 29, 1983 |
Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. A distinctive feature of the view from the Connecticut River, the Goodspeed Opera House is the birthplace of some of the world's most famous musicals, including Annie, Man of La Mancha and Shenandoah.
The Opera House was originally built by a local merchant and banker, William Goodspeed. Construction began in 1876 and finished in 1877. Despite the name, it was not in fact an opera house, but rather a venue for presenting plays. Its first play, Charles II, opened on October 24, 1877. After William Goodspeed's death, the opera house fell into disrepair, facing a series of less glamorous uses—from a militia base during World War I to a general store and a Department of Transportation storage facility.
The building is unique for a theater. The theater itself is actually located on the top two floors of the building making for interesting and sometimes difficult scenery and show load-ins. Scenery is loaded-in from the dock area up a vacant elevator shaft that is now outfitted with a winch system to haul the scenery up to the stage level. Much care has to be taken in order to get the scenery up the shaft without scratching or ruining the scenery. One story told around Goodspeed is that while loading in the scenery for Annie's original pre-Broadway run, a strong gust of wind took a large piece of scenery out of the hands of the loaders and blew it into the Connecticut River.
Goodspeed Musicals was formed in 1959 by a group of concerned citizens after the state of Connecticut had condemned the building. The state agreed to sell the building to the group for one dollar, provided they acquire enough funding to restore and maintain it. The restoration project took nearly four years, and the Goodspeed Opera House was rededicated on June 8, 1963. The first performance in the new opera house was Oh, Lady! Lady! Under the direction of Michael P. Price since 1968, Goodspeed Musicals has sent 19 productions to Broadway. Goodspeed productions have won more than a dozen Tony Awards, while Goodspeed Musicals itself has won two special Tonys, one for outstanding contributions to American Musicals and the other for outstanding achievement by a regional theatre.
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