Proposals Emerge to Transform Emerson’s Historic Colonial Theatre

Photo by Alex Lau

Six months after school officials scrapped plans to convert the Colonial Theatre into a dining hall for students, Emerson College is considering proposals from both local and national firms to transform the historic venue.

A local arts consortium, comprised of Celebrity Series of Boston, Broadway in Boston, Boston Lyric Opera, and Live Nation, has submitted a bid for programming, reports the Globe. The group hopes to being Broadway shows, musical acts, opera, and other attractions. The Boston Lyric Opera, homeless after declining to stick around at the Citi Shubert Theatre, has also submitted a bid of its own.

SMG, an international venue management company based in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, has also submitted a proposal for the space. The United Kingdom’s Ambassador Theatre Group is also rumored to be interested.

“I’ve had shows which tried out in the Colonial, and it’s not only beautiful but acoustically first-rate, two qualities which are rare in tandem, even on Broadway,’’ an outraged Stephen Sondheim told Boston in October. “For those of us involved in musical theater, it’s a treasure and to tear it down would be not only a loss, but something of a crime.”

Carole McFall, Emerson’s director of media relations, told the Globe that the school hopes to make a decision this fall.