BOOTHBAY HARBOR

S ummer makes many things possible in the Mid-coast that year-rounders might think twice about when the roads are icy and the weather moody and unpredictable.

A drive up Route 1 and down Route 27 on a sun dappled summer evening to the Opera House in Boothbay Harbor — just an hour from Brunswick (allowing time for Wiscasset traffic) — is worth the trip for any number of weekly concerts and events.

Jackson Browne — already sold out, sorry — is just one of many musicians who will play the Opera House this summer as the nonprofit arts center celebrates its 10th anniversary.

Browne, a member of both the Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, was the first concert held at the Opera House in November 2003 after months of hard work by the newly founded arts center board, volunteers and community members.

That concert helped “save” the Opera House and set it on the course it still follows today, Cathy Sherrill said. She’s been the executive director since 2006, coming on board just as the organization paid off a mortgage that allowed the nonprofit to purchase the building.

As part of the 2013 season, Jackson Browne and his band will be returning to Boothbay Harbor on July 10 to give another benefit concert to celebrate the past decade of growth for the organization.

Meanwhile, every week and sometimes a couple nights a week, the Opera House hosts musicians, magicians and other acts playing everything from orchestral music to bluegrass to solo songwriter stories and more.

“Since that Jackson Browne show (in 2003), we’ve steadily increased the number of performances. Now we’re at 90 to 100 performances a year, most in the summer,” Sherrill said.

Like any big house in Maine

“It needs endless paint,” Sherrill said in an interview with The Times Record. “Something always needs to be painted or repaired.”

The building at 86 Townsend Ave. was built in 1894 by the Knights of Pythias. The meeting place used to be where the bar now is. A Masonic order met in what was once a restaurant. “It’s always been privately owned,” Sherrill said.

Fast forward to the 21st Century.

“It was empty and semi-derelict. There was talk about turning it into condos or just knocking it down,” Sherrill said.

The future of the Opera House was uncertain. The enormous building, with much deferred maintenance, was decaying slowly. The cost to purchase it, and then begin a program of restoring it, was almost prohibitive to think about. Yet, people in the Greater Boothbay community did think about it. Through generous early financial and volunteer leadership, specifically from resident Bob Jones, the old building was purchased and the Board of Directors began to plan for the future.

Paying off the mortgage in just three years made it possible for the Board to focus on infrastructure, Sherrill said.

“We’re not saddled with debt. We’ve been able to replace the roof and windows, floors, insulation, the heating system and preserve the building. It’s like any big old house in Maine. Its needs are endless,” Sherrill said.

In the years since 2003, the Opera House has been slowly restored as the funds have been available. A new roof, interior and exterior painting, replacement windows and doors, new floors, new heating and lighting systems, wiring and plumbing, a sound system, a new balcony railing, stage curtains, basement drainage and waterproofing, insulation, a paved parking lot, and upgrades for handicapped accessibility have helped to preserve the building and improve the audience experience.

In 2008 the building was named to the National Historic Registry of Places.

Part of this

While the restoration of the building has at times been nothing short of miraculous, Sherrill points out what has happened on stage has been equally noteworthy.

“The longer you’re around as a person and as a venue, the better your reputation. The reputation of the Opera House is rock solid. Performers love to come here. They have a good time and we treat them well,” Sherrill said.

Grammy-winning musicians now fill the calendar, while regional talents also get the chance to entertain neighbors and friends at the venue. Nashville and New York and Los Angeles agents now clamor to get their musicians on the Opera House stage. What began as an all-volunteer effort has grown and now includes three staff members, lots of volunteers, and a 15- member board of directors. The Opera House is open year round, but the summer season along the Maine coast helps to swell the audiences in July and August.

It’s not just performers who love the Opera House, but audiences as well. “Some venues aren’t open all the time, but we’re open yearround and our administrative offices are right behind the box office, so people come in and tell us what they want to see,” Sherrill said.

“What’s nice is that they feel a real part of this place,” she added.

While The Boneheads, the annual Hometown Hootenanny and Dar Williams and others have already performed on the historic stage in 2013, the remainder of the 10th anniversary year includes Kathy Mattea, Jimmy Webb, Paul Sullivan and Suzanne Nance, John Gorka, Ellis Paul, The BoDeans and dozens of others.

Tickets are available through the Opera House box office at 86 Townsend Ave., or by calling 633-5159. The box office is open Tuesday-Friday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Online tickets and information are also available at boothbayoperahouse.com.

rshelly@timesrecord.com

2013 Main Stage performances

June 8: McAuley, Horan & O’Caoimh; 8
p.m. (in advance $15/at door $20).
June 15: Ellis Paul; 8 p.m. ($17/$20).
June 21: John Ford Coley; 8 p.m.
($20/$25).
June 22: The Magic of Lyn Dillies; 7:30
p.m. ($20 adults, $12 youth under
18; at door $25 all).
June 23: PS I Love Music with Paul
Sullivan, Suzanne Nance, Gordon
Gotlieb and Sam Schwehm; 7:30 p.m.
($20/$25).
June 27: Maine humorist Tim Sample;
7:30 p.m. ($18/$23).
June 30: John McCutcheon; 7:30 p.m.
($18 adults, $12 youth; at door $22 all).
July 3: The Black Lillies; 7:30 p.m.
($17/$21).
July 5: John Gorka with special guest
Michael Johnson; 8 p.m. ($22/$27).
July 10: Jackson Browne — Opera House 10th Anniversary Concert SOLD OUT July 13: Cordis Quartet; 8 p.m.
($16/$20).
July 18: Frank Vignola & Vinny Raniolo;
7:30 p.m. ($16/$20).
July 21: Jimmy Webb; 7:30 p.m.
($22/$27).
July 25: Solas; 7:30 p.m. ($22/$27).
July 26: Delfeayo Marsalis & the New
American Songbook; 7:30 p.m.
($20/$25).
July 31: Danny Beal’s Downeast
Goodtime Hour (and a half!); 7:30
p.m. ($10/$15).
Aug. 2: Cherish the Ladies; 8 p.m.
($20/$25).
Aug. 3: Comedian Juston McKinney; 8
p.m. ($22).
Aug. 7: Maine Pro Musica; 7:30 p.m.
($20/$25, $10 under 18).
Aug. 8: The Stories & Songs of Bill
Harley; 7:30 p.m. (adults $12, under
18 $5).
Aug. 10: Francine Reed; 8 p.m.
($17/$21).
Aug. 15: Ed Gerhard; 7:30 p.m. ($18).
Aug. 16: Kathy Mattea; 8 p.m.
($35/$40).
Aug. 17: Livingston Taylor; 8 p.m.
($22/$27).
Aug. 22: Bob Milne; 7:30 p.m.
($18/$22).
Aug. 23: Eileen Ivers & Immigrant Soul;
8 p.m. ($25/$30).
Aug. 29: Novel Jazz Septet; 7:30 p.m.
($15/$20).
Sept. 14: David Wilcox; 8 p.m.
($16/$21).
Sept. 21: Downeast Brass Quintet;
7:30 p.m. ($10/$15).
Sept. 27: The BoDeans; 8 p.m.
($25/$30).
Oct. 24: Paul Brady; 7:30 p.m.
($20/$25).
Nov. 1: Alan Reid & Rob Van Sante; 8
p.m.; ($15/$20).
All performances, unless otherwise
noted, are at The Opera House, 86
Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor. Box
office 633-5159. Information and
tickets at boothbayoperahouse.com.
All performances on the main floor are
fully accessible. Free parking is
available in the Opera House parking
lot for ticket holders. Refreshments
served at all events.

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