Landmark Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine plans $62 million "total reconstruction"

The Ogunquit Playhouse, a landmark summer theater space that has stood in southern Maine for nearly a century, is planning a major renovation.

Developers came before the Ogunquit Planning Board on Monday to discuss the $62 million project.

"Our proposal is total reconstruction of the Ogunquit Playhouse," Corey Colwell with land planning firm TFMoran said. 

Colwell said the plans also call for a new event space and entry plaza, a concessions building, courtyard, offices, accessibility improvements and better pedestrian access. The Playhouse also wants to build on-site housing for performers and staff.

"Our cast and crew and staff have been making do in facilities that are almost 100 years old and so out of date and so substandard," Board of Directors president Benjamin Auger said in a video released last month outlining the Playhouse's vision for the next century.  "We need to do better for them." 

For theatergoers, the new auditorium will have better sightlines and more comfortable seats. The Playhouse says it welcomes 100,000 patrons every summer season, and helps generate $21.5 million annually for Maine's economy.

The Playhouse off Route 1 was originally built in 1937. Big Hollywood names have performed on its stage over the decades, including Bette Davis, William Shatner, Steve McQueen and Betty White.

Project organizers say in their proposal they are "committed to preserving the Playhouse's standing in the theater and Coastal Maine community while updating the theater and grounds to meet the needs of the 21st century."

More public hearings are planned before the project can move forward.