Capitalizing on Moncton's Fine Arts

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MONCTON, NEW BRUNSWICK

Warning! Sitting alone in a haunted theatre auditorium may cause the hairs on the back of your neck to rise. This is what they should tell you before entering Moncton’s Capitol Theatre. Eight hundred seats in the entire place and somehow I chose the one next to the spirit of Alexander “Sandy” Lindsay, resident ghost and volunteer firefighter.

Or maybe that’s just a draft. I’m not sure. The Capitol’s staff sold me on the ghost story like they do with so many young school kids that I wonder for a second if dear old Al, who died when the main stage crushed him during a 1924 blaze, is still here.

Moncton's Capitol Theatre has entertained the community for the  past 90 years.

His story is told on a small brass plate underneath a black and white photo hanging wall immediately to the left of the main entrance on the lobby wall. Al, mid-30’s and balding, is sitting on an old No. 2 fire engine with two other firefighters who were presumably with him that night. He’s the only firefighter to die in the City of Moncton’s history during active duty. But that isn’t why Al is remembered. If it weren’t for him, the Capitol wouldn’t be entertaining tens of thousands visitors every year or keeping me on edge today.

Seven months after fire ripped through the theatre, the Capitol reopened with 600 fewer seats than its original number, but still had trouble filling them. Soon, the theatre became a movie house and silent films and projection movies eventually followed. The theatre wasn’t living up to its billing and faced the possibility of becoming a parking lot. But in 1991, Greater Moncton purchased the Capitol from Famous Players and assigned a Board of Directors to revive the city’s love for live theatre.

After a brief hiatus, a $3.5 million restoration was complete. Hundreds of volunteers pitched in and the theatre reopened its doors in 1993.

From the outside, the Capitol Theatre bares a striking resemblance to Broadway. A large white board, surrounded by yellow lights, hangs over the sidewalk off Main Street and reads “Loreena McKennitt”. Her last set was last night. She was one of the first performers of the season.

The theatre holds performances year-round but its featured season, called “The Capitol Presents”, runs from September through May. It features a long list of local artists, Acadian musicians, Symphony New Brunswick as well as a host of national and international talent.

Part of the Capitol’s goal of being a community theatre is to help the new generation of artists gain exposure. Even if the theatre doesn’t expect the act to sell out the 800-plus seats, at least the artists have a venue to show off their wares, and an affordable price to both the performer and the audience.

Plans to convert the Capitol back into its original 1922 look, the one you see today, actually happened by accident. Workers discovered old stenciling, gold leafing and murals inside the main theatre while chipping away at several coats of paint. One of the stencils is a dramatic portrait of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite, flanked by two naked, winged infants located on the ceiling a few feet away from the main stage, near the theatre’s original brass chandelier. The work is that of Emmanuel Briffa, considered to be one of the top theatre decorators of his era. His creation brings to life these suspended characters and reminds oneself of how close this artwork came, on multiple occasions, to being washed away.

Although some very notable entertainers have graced the stage – Stevie Wonder, Phyllis Dyller, and The Great Raveen – Briffa’s work will always steal the show because it is a true representation of the commitment of the theatre committee, its volunteers and one resident ghost.