Theatre 1 has 225 luxurious seats and is outfitted with plush seating, ambient lighting and state-of-the-art projection and audio technology that can be used for everything from live performances to business presentations. Space 57 is a blank canvas and multi-dimensional event space that can accommodate up to 1,000 guests. The two combine to form the most dynamic venue in the city.
the other side helped to formulate who i am today and what i do. it was 1971 and i was a 15 year old runaway who with the help of my new best friend Geraldine, who id met at the free school we both went to,in Harvard square, had just come out of my closet. it was after a meeting at the gay liberation front offices (my first time being around a bunch of gay men was at a mattachine society dance a couple months before, where everyone stood around or danced stiffly, sipping on liquor-free punch), that i was invited to go to sporters. i was a ripe and ready 15 and walked into my first gay bar. there was a jukebox playing the supremes or such while all around the bar, placed in the center of the long thin room, stood the same preppy looking guys that i came in with from the glf meeting. i had a beer and sat taking it all in. it was exciting but boring. after sporters the guy who was driving me home had to make a stop at some other bar. we pulled up to this one and a half story windowless building with two large doorways on either side (was it black and white?). as the guy opened the door, a blast of music and whistles and raised voices rushed at me making me sit up and take notice. i looked around kind of nervously and noticed the other bar across the street (jacques) with tall scare -queens in full f*** make-up but no wig and pants with the shirt tied at waste, along with girls in high platforms and little hot pants all hanging out in front. lots of cars going around in circles, and really hot guys and elaborate drag queens walking quickly into what the sign across the top said was the other side. by the time the guy came back and we drove off i knew id be back to the other side soon. i felt like i was home. and i was. along with many other 14, 15, and 16 year olds that were runaways or were thrown out of the house for being gay. the people i met there became my family. the punch bowl had recently closed (i was till a little hippy in pennsylvania then), and the area around the other side was gay heaven. napoleons was down the street, jacques across the street, an upscale gay restaurant/lounge was right next to the o.s. and the concrete howard johnsons to one side of the building blocking what at one time was the exit to the street the os was on, made it like a little closed off square. having a sort of gay oasis was wonderful, it was like being in ptown. this was just two years after stonewall and gays could still be fired from their jobs, forced to move, be arrested for no reason, be committed to a mental hospital, and even lobotomized. those were still the days when theyd back the paddy wagon up against the entrance to the bar so they could herd you in. it was illegal for same sex to dance together or for gay bars to have a liquor license. when you walked into the os you passed through the doormen donald and allen who decided if you were cute enough and gay enough to let in. youd pay your two dollars, more on weekends, and enter into the p. b. pub. dark, with booths on the left, dim, fake tiffany lamps overhead, with the bar on the right. we would sit in the booths if we were waiting for the o.s. to open (many of us were street kids so had plenty of time. and.. the o.s. became home to us. we were there every night but monday), or on a weekend day for some reason. i remember vividly sitting in one of the booths before the bar with nan goldin, ( whos photos, she was taking at that time, are in her book "the other side"), my best friend geraldine, and two or three of the queens who later appeared in the book, just biding our time till they opened the door to the o.s.. you entered the o.s. through a door that had a sign that said you are entering the other side discotheque; the first time id seen that word. what i walked into, the first time i entered into the other side was like something out of barbarella, beyond the valley of the dolls and the boys in the band all rolled into one. oh, and sweet charity also. it was black, the walls were black, the only lights came from a couple dim spotlights recessed into the low ceiling, and the long bar on the other side of the room and to the right as you entered was the dance floor with its blinking christmas lights and small stage that scare queen extraordinaire, sylvia sydney would soon take over. but at that moment diana ross was singing surrender to the record that dj sam samsons was spinning in the dj booth to the left and up from the stage. as soon as diana ross (drag queen of course) got off the stage, it, and the area in front of it was instantly filled with thrashing and throbbing 16, 17 & 18 year old bodies bumping to the chacachas jungle fever. i just stood there with my mouth open.. black boys with huge afros, spandex tube tops and 6 inch platforms, beautiful full-f*** drag queens with top nots a foot high, high heels and cheekbones to die for, cute boys in tight shirts and tighter pants, the f** hags in their 40's dresses and high goody too shoes, eyebrows shaved and drawn on like jean harlow. and everyone was doing the bump. people today cant imagine just how dirty the bump could get :} i met all my best and longest friends at the other side, except for geraldine, my f** hag and partner in crime, we did everything together. there was jimmy melba, who was the diana ross id seen on the stage, soon to become just jimmy again, there was mary jane and donna, two best friends from southie, f** hags, but no bodies f** hag. bobby bellino, paul walsh, donnie ward...so many.. gordon, tilly, paul/fayja, dead jerry, blond jerry, bobby rae, lucy, naomli, collette, pearl, lola, pickles, varni/marlena, bea. lots of wild drag queens,. youd be dancing and all of a sudden youd be pushed or hear a loud crash and someone else had gotten hit over the head with a bear bottle. there were some gay girls and dykes, but they usually hung across the street at jaques, a place id frequent to visit my aunt priscilla and her lover sophie. the pimps hovered around the back of the bar while their hos set up their tricks, or older guys would take a boy to the bar and talk about how much etc. it was dark, and mostly low ceilinged, except for the dance floor which was two floors or so high. for about a year or so it was basically a private club, everyone knew everyone and everyone accepted everyone. it was dark and smelly, everyone was fucked up on black beauties and/or Quaaludes or tuinals, or acid or mescaline, or just pot and alcohol and pills (many a night wed have to put a passed-out friend or two into the back of geraldines buick electra), we knew we were being ripped off with watered down liquor, and the bathroom was a mess, and tex or sally would tell us, drink up bpys or youre gonna have to leave...and it was dangerous, but it was wonderful. the best music, soul macossa, kool & the gang hollywood swingin, funky stuff, the first choice, smarty pants, james brown, spinners, ill be around, lyn collins think about it little sister youre the one... this was before disco. my earliest really disco moment i remember at the other side was stop and think by the trammps. that, for me was the song that triggered a change in music geared specifically for the dance floor, and it was longer than the usual. but mostly at the o.s. it was soul, with some obscure rock like delaney & bonny crazy bout my baby, barabas woman, or j geils band give it to me. if i remember correctly, in the early days sam the dj had two turn tables but no mixer. sylvia sydney was a huge loud swearing scare queen in ratted afro wigs, long tight gowns and sporting a huge round belly, with no teeth. shed sing the opera come come to the chocolate soldier, and then go through the crowd and "read" different people in the crowd "ill read your beads mary!" but shed also mention that we should fight for our rights, she didnt take any s*** and neither should we. around 1973 they renovated the other side and added an upstairs area with a see through dance floor. slowly things started to change, theyd let in more straight people. and the bands that played boston like the new york dolls, david bowie, rolling stones, would all come in to talk to the queens. slowly 1270 got more popular, and then cabaret opened on lansdowne, and with the straighter crowd slowly coming onto the o.s., by 1974 it had changed. and geraldine and i had moved to new york. today im a photographer and artist and back in boston. my work revolves around what i experienced during my "other side" days that formulated who i am today. anyone from those days with any info, memories, photos, etc please contact me, i plan to get a web page started on the os. also any of the old drag queens still around. i want to photograph you! bobby busnach
The Shubert Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts, is located at 263-265 Tremont Street in the Boston Theater District. It opened on January 24, 1910 with a production of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew starring E.H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe. Architect Thomas M. James (Hill, James, & Whitaker) designed the building, which seats approximately 1,600 people. Originally conceived as The Lyric Theatre by developer Charles H. Bond, it was taken over by The Shubert Organization in 1908 after Bond's death.The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. In February 1996, the Wang Center signed a 40-year lease agreement with the Shubert Organization. In November 1996, the theatre reopened after being renovated with the first national tour of the musical Rent. As of 2006, it comprises part of the Citi Performing Arts Center.As of November 1, 2016, the theater will be named the Shubert Theatre at the Boch Center. The naming rights were purchased by the Boch family and will also include the Citi Performing Arts Center being renamed as the Wang Theatre at the Boch Center.
Abby Lane pays homage to nostalgic storytelling, experiences and history of Boston's Theater District. We provide top-notch service, quality cuisine and approachable vintage glamour associated with the way dining used to be. At Abby Lane, the guests are the stars of the show.
Online menus, items, descriptions and prices for Caprice - Restaurant - Boston, MA 02116
The Wang Theatre of Boston, Massachusetts is located in a historic 1925 building that was originally the Metropolitan Theatre, and later the Music Hall. It was designed by Clarence Blackall and is located at 252-272 Tremont Street in the Theatre District. The business is operated as part of the Citi Performing Arts Center. The building was also known as the Metropolitan Center. The theatre was designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1990.Metropolitan TheatreThe structure was originally known as the Metropolitan Theatre when it opened in 1925. The Metropolitan Theatre was developed by Max Shoolman and designed by architect Clarence Blackall, with the assistance of Detroit theatre architect C. Howard Crane. It opened for use in 1925. It seats more than 3,600 people.Music HallIn 1962 it became the home of the Boston Ballet and was renamed the Music Hall. During the 1960s and 1970s, audiences could see the Stuttgart Opera, the Metropolitan Opera, Bolshoi Ballet and Kirov Ballet as well as popular movies and performing artists. With time though, they could no longer attract the large touring companies because of the size of their stage as well as their outdated production facilities. Converted to a non-profit center in 1980 and renamed the Metropolitan Center, they were able to attract theatrical performances again.
The Charles Playhouse, of Boston, Massachusetts, is a theater at 74 Warrenton Street in the Boston Theater District. Blue Man Group and Shear Madness currently perform there.HistoryIn 1957, the Charles Playhouse opened at 54 Charles Street. In 1958, the company moved to the current Warrenton Street location. The Warrenton Street building was originally built in 1839, as the Fifth Universalist Church from a design by architect Asher Benjamin. In 1864, it became the second home of Congregation Ohabei Shalom, the first synagogue in Boston. It was later transformed into a speakeasy called The Lido Venice, which became the Southland ballroom and cafe- featuring prominent jazz artists such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Jimmie Lunceford, and many others during the Jazz Age.In 1958, the Charles Playhouse staged a revival of O'Neill's The Iceman Cometh. The founding artistic director, Michael Murray, led the company until 1968. The founder and managing director was Frank Sugrue. The acting company included many stars-to-be such as Al Pacino, Olympia Dukakis, Jill Clayburgh, Jane Alexander, Ned Beatty, and John Cazale. The company produced Boston premieres of plays by Brecht, Beckett, Osborne, and Ionesco, as well as classics by Shakespeare, Shaw, Ibsen, Pirandello, and others.
The Wilbur Theatre is a historic theater at 244-250 Tremont Street in Boston, Massachusetts. The Wilbur Theatre was originally opened in 1914 but was revitalized in 2008. The Wilbur Theatre dwells in the heart of Boston's historic theater district and is known for hosting live comedy and music.Clarence Blackall built the theatre in 1913. The Wilbur was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980 and designated as a Boston Landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission in 1987.In 1998 SFX Entertainment (now Live Nation) bought the Boston theater properties of Jon B. Platt, which included the lease on the Wilbur. The lease ended in 2006.In 2007 the theatre was put on the market. Bill Blumenreich, owner of the Comedy Connection, put the building on lease in 2008. It now serves as the new home of the Comedy Connection in Boston (formerly located in Quincy Market), hosting both comedy and musical talent.Further reading Yearbook of the Boston Architectural Club, 1915. Includes illus. of Wilbur Theatre George McKinnon. "A born-again Wilbur will celebrate success." Boston Globe, 20 Jan 1980 Anthony J. Yudis. "Theatre plaza to spotlight the district." Boston Globe, 09 Oct 1983Images