May Membership Month: Your Impact Resounds through the Community
Did you know that The Music Hall is an economic driver in the Portsmouth community? According to recent studies, theatergoers to The Music Hall generate over $9 million in revenue for the City of Portsmouth each year! Not only is the theater itself a local landmark, but we are also a huge advocate of all the amazing things happening in our community:
- The Historic Theater and The Music Hall Lounge serve as the location for a variety of events put on by local community organizations. From TEDxPortsmouth to the Portsmouth Music and Arts Center’s annual Jazz Night and the New Hampshire Film Festival, we’re honored to host amazing shows that support the cultural life of our community. And the Portsmouth Symphony Orchestra (our resident orchestra!) is here several times per year, whether doing a mainstage concert or as part of our School Days Series.
- Speaking of our School Days Series, these are some of my favorite moments at The Hall. Throughout the school year, we put on performances aimed at elementary and middle school-aged students, helping to introduce them to the performing arts. We also have a scholarship program, which helps students from all economic backgrounds attend the performances.
- Every June, we partner with Gather for our Fill The Hall food drive. We strive to fill every seat in our Historic Theater with bags of food, which benefit Gather’s Meals 4 Kids program, which helps provide meals for children when subsidized school meals aren’t available. This year’s event will take place on Saturday, June 24, starting at 9am. I hope we’ll see you there!
- Every December, the Ogunquit Playhouse performs a holiday musical in our theater (this year is The Sound of Music!). It’s a tradition that helps bring the magic of theater and the holidays to our community. Through our Give the Gift of Magic program, inspired and underwritten by Morgan and Tara Rutman, we partner with local community service organizations to provide tickets to these performances to hundreds of families in our community.
We are proud of all of these partnerships, and we couldn’t do any of it without the support of our members. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, we rely on the generosity of our community to make sure that the theater is here and accessible to everyone. As we approach the end of May Membership Month, I invite you to join our Music Hall family and help ensure that our 145-year-old theater is here to see another 145 years. This month, a generous donor is matching our membership contributions, so your gift will have twice the impact. You can learn more about memberships on our website, or please feel free to call or stop by the B2W Box Office, and we’ll be happy to help you. Thank you very much for your support, and for all you allow us to do.