Sun Ra was the opening act for a re-imagined Modern/Mayflower Theatre, which featured live entertainment after the movie business declined. However, that venture was short-lived. The theater closed in 1981 and fell into disrepair.
Professional and Suffolk Theatre Department performances are among the offerings at the new Modern Theatre. Here Professor Wesley Savick directs students in Car Talk: The Musical. The musical comedy, inspired by the National Public Radio show, was…
Jacob Lourie (1874-1940) owned the Modern Theatre when it opened in 1914. He was an innovator who was the first in Boston to introduce sound with movies.
Architect Clarence H. Blackall (1857-1942) was known for his hundreds of theaters, but he also designed one of Boston’s first skyscrapers, the nine-story Carter Winthrop Building at 7 Water St. Blackall also designed 17 theaters in and around Boston.…
Modern Theatre owner Jacob Lourie built a theater empire as owner of New England Theatres Operating Company, or NETOCO, which at its height operated 35 theaters. The company was affiliated with the Paramount studio until antitrust action broke up…