Colonial Theatre

The Colonial Theatre in Keene, New Hampshire, opened on 29 January 1924 with the silent film The Hunchback of Notre Dame. Under Charles Baldwin’s ownership it presented a mixture of films, vaudeville, opera and theatre, welcoming artists and public figures including Rosa Ponselle, Thornton Wilder and Amelia Earhart. After a period devoted exclusively to cinema, live entertainment returned in the 1980s. A local nonprofit acquired the building in 1993. A later redevelopment created the smaller SHOWROOM venue, opened in 2021, and renewed the main theatre’s stage, backstage and public areas. The historic Colonial reopened on 1 April 2022, continuing its role in the region’s performing-arts life.