Several original plays debuted there or at the opera house before going on to Broadway and winning Tony Awards. While the main stage presents a mixture of revivals and new musicals as part of its 3 production season, The Norma Terris also presents three new musicals each season. In 1984, Goodspeed Musicals added a second performance venue-the Norma Terris Theatre-in nearby Chester, Connecticut. 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. Price from 1968 to 2014, and Michael Gennaro since 2014, Goodspeed Musicals has sent 19 productions to Broadway. The first performance in the new opera house was Oh, Lady! Lady! Under the direction of Michael P. The restoration project took nearly four years, and the Goodspeed Opera House was rededicated on June 8, 1963. The state agreed to sell the building to the group for one dollar, provided they acquire enough funding to restore and maintain it. Goodspeed Musicals was formed in 1959 by a group of concerned citizens after the state of Connecticut had condemned the building. 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. Much care has to be taken in order to get the scenery up the shaft without scratching or ruining the scenery. 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. 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. After William Goodspeed's death in 1882, 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. Its first play, Charles II, opened on October 24, 1877. Despite the name, it was not in fact an opera house, but rather a venue for presenting plays. Construction began in 1876 and finished in 1877. The Opera House was originally built by a local merchant and banker, William Henry Goodspeed.

Goodspeed opera house 2019 season