Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre
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Photo by Eric Laignel
Where the next generation of artists train
and where audiences witness immersive theatrical experiences
Flexibility Yields Experimentation
Listed among the best new architectural structures around the globe (Wallpaper magazine, 2019), the Boston University Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre provides CFA theatre students with countless opportunities to experiment, innovate, and take the audience from 820 Commonwealth Avenue to another world.
“To Hold As ‘Twere The Mirror Up to Nature”
The building’s massive tipped façade serves as a mirror, coupled with a proscenium-inspired truss system, placing the world of Commonwealth Avenue on stage. When coming to see a show at Booth, we invite you to step into the space where, through the configuration of seating risers, the opening of trap doors, the installation of set pieces and drapes, and the use of creative lighting, we transform the theatre and redefine the audience’s relationship with the story onstage.
“Booth Theatre has provided me with a playground. Pretty much anything you imagine possible can be done in that theatre.”
Not only do performances take place here, the BU College of Fine Arts Production Center is onsite. Classes are taught in state-of-the-art facilities by professors who are experts in the field. Students are sketching and bringing their costume designs to life in the Costume Shop. Others are building and painting sets and props in the Paint Shop and Scene Shop.
The best part about Booth Theatre? No production looks the same, making each performance a unique experience for the cast and crew, and the audience.
The Boston University Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and the College of Fine Arts Production Center project are funded in part by a naming gift of $10 million from BU trustee Steve Zide (LAW’86). The theatre is named after Steve’s theatre-loving wife, Janet Zide’s parents, Joan and Edgar Booth. It was designed by internationally-recognized Elkus | Manfredi Architects and the construction for this complex was managed by the Bond Brothers.
By The Numbers
As the premiere theatre stage in BU’s emerging arts district, Booth Theatre’s numbers (in terms of size and the amount of materials available) allow CFA students to build, design, and execute theatrical productions that are innovative, provoking, refreshing, and thoughtful.
Setting the Stage for Sustainability
The award-winning dramatic arts complex earned the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Silver Certification for its green features, including operations and maintenance of a resource-efficient, healthy, and cost-effective space.
Booth Theatre is climate change ready, with mechanical equipment situated on the roof so that systems are above the projected flood level. Also, as part of Boston University’s Sustainable Cleaning Program, the BU custodial team uses 100% Green Seal or EcoLogo certified cleaning products and procedures.
In the Press
BU’s Booth Theatre Helps Boston Public Schools Students and Grads Set the Stage for Success (August 26, 2024)
Sunday in the Park with George Opens at Booth Theatre (April 24, 2024)
Art House is BU’s Homegrown Sitcom (May 10, 2023)
There Will Be Blood at the Booth Theatre for Halloween (October 19, 2022)
CFA’s Judy Braha Caps BU Career Directing Shakespeare in Love (April 28, 2022)
CFA Kicks Off 25th Fringe Festival (October 15, 2021)
Wheelock Family Theatre’s Walking the Tightrope a Story of Love and Loss as Experienced by Two Generations (April 30, 2021)
Susan Mickey Brings a Designer’s Eye to the School of Theatre (February 20, 2020)
CFA Presents Two-Part Pulitzer Winner Angels in America (October 18, 2018)
A Galloping Rhinoceros Opens Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre (February 21, 2018)
New Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre Opens (December 7, 2017)
$10 Million Gift Names New CFA Theater (March 13, 2017)
In a chilling ‘Let the Right One In,’ there will be blood The Boston Globe (November 1, 2022)
Does Actors’ Shakespeare Project’s ‘Let the Right One In’ have the right stuff at BU? WBUR (October 26, 2022)
Missy Mazzoli is having a moment The Boston Globe (October 20, 2021)
BU Fringe Festival is back for its 25th year, performing at Booth Theatre The Daily Free Press (October 20, 2021)
8 Questions with Gabrielle Barkidjija CFA News (October 2021)
10 Questions with Ross Cameron Interior Design (October 29, 2019)
Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and the College of Fine Arts Production Center at Boston University Arch Daily (September 24, 2019)
State of the Arts Bostonia (September 19, 2019)
Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and the College of Fine Arts Production Center at Boston University Avontuura (July 12, 2019)
Boston University’s Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre takes center stage with concrete and aluminum The Architect’s Newspaper (June 27, 2019)
‘Runaways’ highlights homeless youth stories on Booth Theatre stage The Daily Free Press (December 12, 2018)
Boston University Celebrates First Anniversary of Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre Complex Broadway World (December 7, 2018)
At BU’s new Booth Theatre, room to move and to imagine The Boston Globe (April 17, 2018)
Take a Look Inside Boston University’s Brand-New Fine Arts Building Boston Magazine (December 11, 2017)
BU Theater Program Gets A New Home – And A Different Experience for Students wbur (December 6, 2017)
Students, faculty celebrate new College of Fine Arts theater The Daily Free Press (September 7, 2017)
Best Overall Project (under 100 million); Award of Excellence – Architectural Engineering Integration; Award of Merit – Construction Management and Methods; Award of Merit – Structural Systems Design Architectural Engineering Institute (2022)
Awarded the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Silver Certification (2020)
Honor Award for Design Excellence American Institute of Architects New England (AIA) (2020)
Honorable Mention in Architectural Design/Educational Buildings Architecture MasterPrize (2020)
Rendering Award of Excellence – Architecture in Perspective American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI) (2020)
Building blocks: new structures around the globe in 2019 Wallpaper (December 2, 2019)
Honor Award for Design Excellence Boston Society of Architects (BSA)/AIA (2019)
National Design Award of Honor Society of American Registered Architects (SARA) (2019)
Project Achievement Award – New Construction Construction Management Association of America (CMAA)-New England Chapter (2018)
See you at Booth.
Every production done by our School of Theatre students at Booth Theatre is filled with so much magic. Our seasons are packed with dynamic and powerful stories, meant to entice, inspire, and thrill you. Join us at the theatre!
Location
820 Commonwealth Avenue
Brookline, MA 02446
(For GPS, use 808 Commonwealth Avenue. Boston University Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and College of Fine Arts Production Center are located right next door.)
Public Transit Options
- Accessible by the MBTA Green Line. Take the B line to the Amory Street station.
- Accessible by the MBTA CT2 and 57 bus lines.
- BU Shuttle stop M2.
Parking
Street parking is available on and around Commonwealth Avenue. BU parking lots and garages are also available. Lot F is the parking lot at Booth Theatre. The garage entrance is at 148 Essex Street, Brookline MA. This lot will open 90 minutes prior to performances. Rates will vary. Visit bu.edu/parking for more information.
Accessible Entrance
There is an accessible entrance through the Production Center doors on Essex street.
Tickets for BU Community
All Boston University students, faculty, and staff receive free admission at the door with their BU ID to attend performances at Booth Theatre, subject to availability.
