Securing Everyone's John Hancock

If you have been to the theatre before you must have walked through the lobby and had a chance to see all of our lobby posters.  We create a poster for just about every show that just lists the date and time of the show, hoping to get people who are already in the theatre to come back to see another performance.

What many of you may not know is that these posters serve a second purpose.  As we approach our 5-year anniversary we have been brainstorming ideas on how to make the year truly spectacular for our patrons.  One thing that is in the works is an auction of autographed lobby posters.

Before each show, I sneak upstairs to pull the lobby poster down from it's frame and I sneak behind the curtain.  In the green room backstage we have three frames - each holds a season poster which has already been signed by some great stars - including Brian Regan, Jodi Picoult, and Peter Frampton, to name a few.  For the Broadway shows, the season posters are replaced with three copies of the lobby poster and each cast member has a chance to sign it!  For non Broadway shows we ask the artist to sign the season poster and their individual lobby poster.

By the end of this season we will have over 30 acts who have signed the season poster, three copies of each Broadway tour poster signed by the entire cast, and many other singular lobby posters signed by their featured act.  Tonight is Hugh Masekela, world renowned trumpeter and political activist.  I just brought up his lobby poster to be signed tonight!

I will keep you posted as we determine exactly how each of our posters will be auctioned or raffled off.  All proceeds from the auction/raffle will go directly to maintaining the theatre so that we may remain a cultural establishment for many years to come.

Shrekify me!

One of the coolest things about working for a theatre in the marketing department is that I have the chance to look at all of the tour's promotional materials.  Today I would like to share with you one of the absolute coolest promotion I have seen (besides flying with Cathy Rigby)  This promotion came with Shrek the Musical.  Shrek is playing at The Hanover Theatre from February 24 through the 26th.  

The video below documents exactly what this promotion entails - a behind the scenes look at how the star of Shrek the Musical goes from human to ogre!  Of course this video is sped up greatly so you don't have to watch it for hours, but the process is so unbelievably cool.  Hard to imagine sitting in a make up chair for two hours to become Shrek, but this guy does it twice a day on Saturday & Sunday... or maybe he keeps the make-up on in between shows, I'll have to find that out!

Now, all you ladies out there, take a moment to think about what your life would be like if it took you two hours every morning to put your makeup on!  I know I would be late to work all the time if it took me that long!  Yikes!!  I can't help but to think the person who plays Shrek must fall asleep in the chair some days!

Take a look at the video, and if you would like to be able to see Shrek go from human to ogre before the show, visit our Facebook page and look for Gingy to learn about how you can win an all access pass to witness the transformation for you and three of your friends PLUS tickets to see the show.

Fall Flowers

As the seasons change, so must the foliage.  And at The Hanover Theatre that means the flowers must change too.  Many of you may have noticed at the Cake Boss show, or perhaps this weekend when you went to see Young Frankenstein that the flowers in the Carroll Plaza have been changed out to match our cooler weather.  Beautiful orange, yellow and purple mums and green and purple kale have taken over the walk way, all due to our WONDERFUL Gardening Club.






At The Hanover Theatre a huge amount of man power comes solely from our volunteers.  An amazing group of over 200 people come together each year to keep the theatre in its best condition.  One of my favorite groups of volunteers is the gardening club.  This summer, they came out on the hottest day of spring - durring the heat wave - to plant a spread of beautiful perennials.  And once again in the fall they took over the landscape and transformed it for the seasons. 

It likely has to do with the fact that I worked as a florist for a while before THT, but I really have come to appreciate the special atmosphere that lives outside the theatre.  Its easy to get lost in the grey and brick landscape that is downtown Worcester, and the garden outside The Hanover Theatre brings a fresh and fun feeling.


Pretty soon it will be time to string up the white lights onto the trees that make entering the theatre for an evening show something truly special.


Before I end this post, I would like to take a moment to congratulate the cast of Young Frankenstein, who came out strong for the first shows of their tour this past weekend. I loved the show, and I can't wait to get our next Mel Brooks classic!