The Historic Ritz Theatre — Attraction in Brunswick

We caught a Christmas Carol production here and it was pretty good. There wasn't any singing or special effects, but the actors were good. Online ticket info was weak (for instance what constitutes a student?) and we were unable to actually talk to anyone beforehand. Tried calling multiple days in a row and tried visiting in person and never could talk to anyone. Finally just bought student tickets for our kids and no one said anything when we visited, they really just handed us tickets without a care and took tickets without a care. So if you have kids, this place is a great way to introduce them to the theater at $5 a ticket. We have seen lots of plays over the years, so it was a little underwhelming for the adults. Kids thought it was top notch though. Guess if you have seen big productions, just go in knowing it is small town theater. With that said the crew does good with what they have and we enjoyed the show. Seats were pretty standard theater seats. Other reviews said they were awful and we were worried about it, but they were standard seats that all the plays we have seen have. My biggest disappointment with the play we saw is the complete lack of music. No live music, no singing, a smattering of light background music from the pa was all. Usually there is more music involved in the plays we have seen, Shakespeare excluded, and this was a...

"The Ritz". The words conjure images of glamor and style; however, that's not quite the case here. Here in Brunswick "The Ritz" is a case of almost forgotten architectural wonder and glory, with small murals dotting the alley side. A 3 story brick structure, the access is restricted, and it sports a really neat, retro style sign - a leftover from the 50's, no doubt. In need of restoration this theater has a lot of nice bones, plus a glamorous history when Brunswick was more a shipping / maritime town, and before the fishing industry fished itself out of business, and priced itself out of competition with overseas suppliers (though Brunswick remains a seafood port, albeit in a local, minor way).

IF you go into Brunswick to walk around, this is a definite "must-see" on Brunswick's main business / historic "drag" for architectural buffs, and history buffs as well. With some luck and some funding perhaps the town or an individual will restore this building. I rather suspect the upper floors could be devoted to mixed use residential/light industry, while the main theater would hopefully be restored to its past glory since, as I understand it, the acoustics...

What a great experience, we saw a live production of A Christmas Carol. Although the theater is in the downtown section the parking was not a problem and it is easy to navigate to this location. The theater is very small but it adds charm to the experience. Even though the theater is old, and considered historic there are some upgrades and modernizations which make it a good place to go experience Performing Arts in Brunswick. I really enjoyed the play, and the local displayed art from an area school. There are plenty of restaurants within walking distance so dinner and a show is most definitely an...