The Oldest Children’s Theatre in the Nation is located in Portland, Maine Celebrates 100 Years this May

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Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine Celebrates the theatre’s 100-year anniversary this May. Reflecting on the history and a merger, the institution looks to the future with a weekend celebration and a centennial season of theatre.

May 2023 marks the 100th anniversary of a beloved children's theatre. Founded by the Junior League of Portland, ME in 1923, the theatre was part of an initiative to bring forth more arts programs across the nation. The former Children’s Theatre of Portland, Maine, now the Children’s Museum & Theatre of Maine (CMTM), is one of the last remaining theatres from this initial campaign and is now the oldest children’s theatre in the country. 

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Since its founding, the theatre has had a fascinating journey in search of a home: in the 1950s performing on the backs of flatbed trucks on the Eastern Prom, a partnership with the University of Southern Maine Theatre Department, a storefront on Marginal Way, to finally the construction of a new, custom-built facility on Thompson's Point in Portland featuring a beautiful 89-seat theatre auditorium. 

In 2008, when the Children's Theatre of Maine merged with the Children's Museum of Maine they did so with a common goal: to encourage discovery and imagination for children in a safe and nurturing environment (and what parent isn’t eternally thankful for an entire building dedicated to the engagement of children for nearly an entire day!). As a combined entity, the two institutions are stronger, sharing the same mission, vision, and values. The next hundred years will focus on making live performances accessible to the community and giving every child the opportunity to engage in and with the arts.

From May 18 - 21, CMTM will celebrate the unique narrative of the theatre’s past and present with a weekend of theatre-focused events and a play festival. The Kickoff VIP event will be co-hosted by NEWS CENTER Maine’s Chris Costa and CMTM Executive Director Julie Butcher Pezzino featuring musical performances from Viva, Bondeko <https://www.bondekotheband.com>, and a special guest performance by Adam Gardner, a founding member of the rock band Guster and a co-founder of the Portland-based non-profit REVERB.The evening will also feature the debut of the first play festival performance, Sources of Light, by Ciara Neidlinger.  

That same night CMTM will also welcome guests 21+ for the organization’s second annual After Dark series, for a night of play and revelry for adults who are children at heart. The event will be themed for the theatre and all three floors will feature pop-up plays written by adults and performed by local and regional actors.  

Festivities continue with a two-day play festival and celebration on May 20th and 21st, during which time families are welcomed to enjoy pop-up play performances written by adult and youth playwrights, plus theatre-focused programming and merriment throughout the Museum & Theatre. 

With a wide variety of voices, subject matter, and style, the theatre’s performance line-up fills a full calendar of events and programming to draw  families from all over the region, country, and world. And over the past 100 years, the Children’s Theatre and Children’s Museum of Maine have impacted thousands from its first days on the back of pickup trucks on Eastern Prom to its new and permanent home on Thompson’s Point. As it enters its second century, the CMTM will continue to inspire and delight children and families. 

In addition to hosting a 100 Year bash, CMTM welcomes over 200,000 visitors a year to its new 30,000-square-foot state-of-the-art home on Portland’s Thompson’s Point. The new 89-seat theatre facility is lovingly named "Maddy's Theatre," after the birth mother of the theatre's longtime patron and supporter, Maddy Corson. 

For more information on the history of the Children’s Theatre, a list of weekend events and tickets, playwrights, performers, and more, visit kitetails.org.