PEEK BEHIND THE CURTAIN: Touring the heart of Wilmington theatre

From the outside, Thalian Hall looks like a building you might see in any town of Wilmington’s age and regional importance. At a glance, the 3rd Street facade looks like it could be the old town hall, or courthouse, or library, that in most places was likely turned into the local museum. But just above the front doors you can see the words Thalian Hall, and Thalian Hall is all of those things and more. The Hall lives as it was intended to, as the hub for community in Wilmington.

In the mid 19th century, WIlmington had exploded to be one of the largest and most influential towns in North Carolina. In light of the budding prosperity, the local government decided they needed a fitting building to match (really, to outmatch Fayetteville, but I digress). Handily, the town’s aging theatre and event space, the Innes Academy (originally a boys school with a 200 seat theatre, which stood at the corner of 3rd and Princess streets, and is commemorated today by Innes Park) was falling into disrepair, sparking calls for its replacement. So, the town government contracted John Montigue Trimble, the top theatre architect of the time to design the new facility.

The new building would fill the role of the heart of the community. It would house the town hall, the “Mayor’s Court” (a rough approximation of civil and county court today), the library, the town armory (in the basement), a lecture hall (in what is now called the Red Room), and the grand opera house that is the Main Stage.

History lessons aside, walking into the lobby spaces or sitting in the auditorium does little justice to what Thalian Hall really is. Thalian is a time capsule, a maze, a collection of all the little secrets that make theatre work, and most of all, a living, breathing testament and home to the arts in WIlmington. To really meet Thalian Hall you have to take a tour.

The lobbies are full of artifacts and pictures to be seen, stories to be heard of performers past, historical ties, near disasters, and the many changes and improvements through the years. But once you step past what the audience sees, Thalian really begins to tell her stories. 

The decades of show banners pasted on the walls in the stage right extension, and collections of photos from community productions floating around backstage set the tone. Walking the boards of the Main Stage for the first time reframes every show you’ve seen from the audience. Looking up, the fly system holds the next set change, and lurking above the ceiling, in the attic, is something special that has brought magic to audiences for 168 years. 

The tour winds through the building, popping in dressing rooms, going through narrow hallways lined with tables and racks with perfectly arranged messes, some areas merging the old and the new. In the Gallery level, which is not normally open to the public, the seating is all original, built-in church-like pews, the stairs a little too steep for modern standards, the sightlines, nonexistent. But the tech crew has taken over with modern lighting rigs, spotlights, and new movie projection equipment. Everything in this building has a purpose and is used, whether it is 168 years old or two weeks old. 

Then there are the stories. Each tour option has a basic script, but each docent has their own favorite stories. Some are historical, some are personal, some are passed down with a grin that suggests the docent isn’t entirely sure whether they’re true — and doesn’t much care. Like theatre itself, Thalian Hall thrives on lore. Tours don't lean into spectacle so much as accumulation: small moments, strange details, and the growing sense that this building has always been paying attention.

As the City government has moved to the Skyline Center, Thalian Hall is growing into spaces once reserved for city government. Thalian Hall will never be content as a monument behind velvet ropes, she continues to grow, advance, and adapt to the needs of WIlmington. Even if you’ve taken a tour of the Hall before, give it another go. Thalian holds more stories than any tour can hold and, and she is full of surprises with many new adventures ahead.

Thalian Hall offers a variety of tour options, for more information and to book a tour visit thalianhall.org/tours