Brogan Talks Concord Theatre And City’s Love Affair With Movies

CONCORD, NH — It was nearly eight years ago that author and award-winning Patch blogger Paul Brogan signed copies of his book, “Was That A Name I Dropped?” at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord. He was one of Concord NH Patch’s first 5 Questions interviews, about 12 days after the site went live. Brogan returns again to Gibson’s on Thursday, May 9, to talk about his new book, “The Concord Theatre and Concord's Love Affair with the Movies.”

A lot has changed in the eight years since his last book signing.

Brogan began working on the book after writing about the historic movie house and lecturing about the history of the theatre, too.

“Was That A Name I Dropped?” sold out a number of pressings. There is a copy for sale on Amazon for $864.56.

Gibson’s expanded in 2013, and moved into a much larger space constructed by Steve Duprey’s real estate company.

Brogan unsuccessfully ran for mayor of the city Concord in 2015, but was recently named a Patch mayor.

The historic movie house – which had been languishing on South Main Street for many years – is being turned into a new performance space by the Capitol Center for the Arts, with Duprey assisting as a consultant.

Here are 5 Questions with Paul Brogan:

First off, congratulations on your new book, "The Concord Theatre and Concord's Love Affair with the Movies.” As you know, many of us in Concord have all kinds of memories about the theatre. We are also excited about its revival, too. What inspired you to put together all of these memories into book form?

The years I spent there allowed me to hear great stories about its past, however, what finally motivated me was a series of blogs about the theater that I wrote for Patch back in 2011. The response was so positive. When I later did a series of talks about the theater's history, often joined by Joe Gleason from the Capitol Center, the turnout and the interest were almost overwhelming. I knew then that I had to put it down on paper for posterity and for those who never went there.

Concord played a pretty large role in your first book, “Was That A Name I Dropped?” This book, obviously, is focused a lot of Concord history, too. A lot of people think that Concord is still a “City in a Coma.” What keeps you here and what draws you to write about the city?

I lived in Los Angeles for a while and it was nice, but Concord retains a hold on those of us who "got it" years ago. Sure, it wasn't New York City or Boston but there was a lot more going on than sometimes appeared. When a movie struck gold at the Concord ("Valley of the Dolls" drew more than 15,000 during its run), you saw and interacted with a real cross-section of the people who were part of Concord.

Most of us never had a “relationship” with Theresa Cantin, the long-time owner of the Concord Theatre, like you did. She was the lady at the ticket counter. Can you share an amazing thing we don’t know about her? And, what do you think she would think of the theatre’s revival as a new performance space downtown?

Theresa had the best sense of humor and fun. In 1981 on a slow night when not a single person came to the show, she decided to close up and suggested the two of us go to Cinema 93 which was playing John Waters' "Polyester." She'd heard about Odorama and the scratch and sniff cards and was curious. She had such a good time that in 1994, one of the last movies she played was Waters' "Serial Mom." As for the new venue, she'd be thrilled. Before the theater it was a bakery for some 70 years, providing a service to the community. Then as a movie house for 61 years, it continued to do that. As the Bank of NH Stage, it'll continue providing people with something special.

Share some cool Concord Theatre statistics with us: What was the longest running film there? Which film made the most money? What picture was the biggest bomb? Were there any flicks that caused controversy or scandal?

The two films that played the longest were "10" and "Animal House" (nine weeks). "Valley of the Dolls" sold the most tickets but admissions were about $2 then. "Moonstruck," which played in early 1988, probably made the most money because admission prices were much higher than for "Valley," 20 years earlier. The biggest bomb we played while I was there was a Sean Connery film entitled "Cuba." There were nights that not a soul came near the theater. "Jack the Ripper" caused a huge controversy and Theresa cancelled it after the Bishop and other officials including the Concord mayor at the time (Johnson) objected. "Valley of the Dolls" resulted in Theresa being told she could not enter St. John's Church ever again. The film was condemned by the Legion of Decency.

Writing can be a lot of toil and trouble. What keeps you motivated and what kind of advice can you give to other writers who may have dreams of writing the great American novel or share a part of their history with an audience?

I tell people this was a work in progress for about half a century from the time I started working at the theater. However, the actual writing and research took 1,835 hours. It was worth it. We all have a story to tell, either about ourselves or something that happened around us. If you decide to write it, however, you have to look at it as a job and do it daily, not just when you feel like it. I worked Monday to Friday, from 9 until 11 a.m. and from 1 until 4 p.m. It can't just be a hobby because what you write and share may influence, touch, educate or entertain others. It's a big responsibility but worth it.

Paul Brogan will be talking about and signing copies of "The Concord Theatre and Concord's Love Affair with the Movies” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 9, 2019, at Gibson’s Bookstore, 45 S. Main St. in Concord.