Academy of Music Theatre

About

The Academy of Music is a distinguished community-based performing arts venue with a stable of resident companies that produce live theatrical, musical and dance performances, and show non-mainstream films

Story

On May 23, 1891, the 800-seat Academy of Music opened with an inaugural concert that featured the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The event marked the beginning of “a new era” in musical and dramatic attractions for the City of Northampton, according to the local newspaper.

It also completed a dream held by wealthy native Edward H.R. Lyman, who retired to the area with the desire to ensure his hometown had a place for lectures, concerts, opera, and “the drama for the public good.” Work on the two-story building on a prominent downtown corner began in 1889. A Renaissance-style façade was erected and Tiffany windows installed in the lobby, a gift from the famed stained-glass artist to Lyman.

Two years after it opened, Lyman deeded the Academy of Music it to the City of Northampton, making it the first municipally owned theatre in the nation. In doing so, he made certain that the architectural treasure would be cared for by trustees invested in its success; he stipulated the city mayor and president of Smith College would always serve on its governing board. From 1912 to 1919 the Academy of Music was the home of the Northampton Players, a municipally supported theatre company that changed its live offerings weekly and was paid by the city. The theatre quickly became a favorite stop on the tours of leading troupes and big-name performers.

Legendary French stage actress Sarah Bernhardt and bawdy American actress Mae West both performed there. Master illusionist Harry Houdini “disappeared” into the stage and American conductor John Philip Sousa commanded it.

But, as with any good production, the Academy of Music’s storyline held drama. The theatre experienced a period of decline in the 1950s and 1960s and was condemned. Its revival in the 70s marked a shift to first-run films, a decision that was later reconsidered as movies proliferated in mega-cinemas and hand-held telephones.

Today, the Academy of Music is a distinguished community-based performing arts venue with a stable of resident companies that produce live theatrical, musical and dance performances, and show non-mainstream films. It is home to the Northampton Arts Council, the Pioneer Valley Ballet, the Commonwealth Opera, the Young at Heart Chorus, the Northampton Film Festival, and to the many events of the Out! For Reel film series.

Today, the Academy of Music continues to fulfill a Edward H.R. Lyman’s original dream of enriching the quality of life of all those who pass through its doors.