Thomaston Opera House: Big Theater In A Small Town
Last Friday night, I took a tour of the Thomaston Opera House, an architectural jewel of the Naugatuck Valley and a source of community and regional pride.
I arrived at the end of a rehearsal of the “Nutcracker.” Ballerinas from the Connecticut Dance Theatre, in purple and green costumes for “Waltz of the Flowers,” relaxed in the front row of the theater. Parents sat nearby, waiting to take young dancers home.
It was a poignant slice of life in a small Connecticut town. The scene is played out in many other communities across the state that have converted historic buildings into showcases for local talent and professional tours. Often, these centers of arts and culture serve as anchors for neighborhood revitalization.
Thomaston is one example of a town that has strived to reinvent itself in a new age. In addition to the Opera House, Thomaston houses a small industrial park, on the old Seth Thomas clock site, where many small businesses got started. It’s impressive how Thomaston and its small businesses have worked together to build long-term prosperity.
(Picture L-R: Barbara Piscopo, member of the Thomaston Opera House Commission; Linda McMahon; Sharon Wilcox, Managing Director of the Thomaston Opera House Commission)