08-05-2025
Leavitt Theatre at 100: From silent films to drag shows, still thriving in Ogunquit
OGUNQUIT, Maine — When the Leavitt Theatre first opened its doors in 1925, it was a pioneering hub for the latest cinematic innovation: silent films accompanied by live music.
Now, in 2025, the iconic theater at 259 Main Street is a vibrant, eclectic venue, hosting everything from classic films and concerts to burlesque shows, drag performances, guest speakers, and stand-up comedy—all while still honoring its roots with screenings of silent-era legends like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton.
Perhaps you've already done the math: this year, the Leavitt Theater is celebrating its centennial.
'The place is really important to me,' said Max Clayton, who manages and operates the theatre with his wife, Emily. 'My family has owned it now for almost half of its existence.'
Max and Emily Clayton took over managing and operating the theater in 2017. For Max Clayton, 39, it marked the passing of a torch— his parents, Peter and Maureen, had purchased the theater in 1976, overseeing its operations for years. Though the elder Claytons still own the historic building, it's now their son and daughter-in-law who run the show.
The efforts of the younger Clayton couple are paying off – which is a good thing, considering that, just a few years ago, Max Clayton was concerned that his beloved family theater might not reach its 100th anniversary.
There were a couple of reasons, one of a business sort and the other of a more existential kind. Perhaps, having lived through recent history yourself, you can guess the latter one.
But first, the business issue. To keep the theater going, Clayton had to pull back on its signature offering – new movie releases – and further diversify its calendar of entertainment.
According to Clayton, a decline in moviegoing resulted in studios out west asserting that a single-screen theater, such as the Leavitt, would have to show new releases for longer stretches of time for the partnership to be profitable on their end. That's why, for example, the first 'Wonder Woman' blockbuster had quite a lengthy run at the Leavitt upon its release in 2017.
Locking down one film for considerable weeks of time tied up the theater and limited opportunities to present other kinds of entertainment on screen and stage, Clayton said. To remedy this, the Claytons decided in 2019 to no longer show new theatrical releases and instead present classic ones, from those silents of the 1920s to such modern greats as 'Jaws,' 'The Goonies,' and 'Dirty Dancing,' to name a few.
Now, freed from the lock 'Wonder Woman' and other Hollywood blockbusters had on the Leavitt's single screen, the Claytons were able to truly diversify their entertainment offerings. While the Leavitt has been known for showcasing more than movies throughout its history, the theatre in recent years has varied even more in the entertainment that it offers: concerts, guest speakers, burlesque and drag shows, stand-up comedians, a weekend festival, holiday festivities, and more.
This season, there'll even be an illusionist coming to town, according to Nell Kevlik-Brown, the events director for the theatre.
To expand the Leavitt's appeal even further, the Claytons have renovated the balcony area of the theater into a full-service bar and lounge, complete with a unique dinner menu and a cozy, speakeasy feel.
'We really try to curate an experience that's very singular,' Kevlik-Brown said. 'It's innately cool. It's a 100-year-old theater, a stone's throw away from an award-winning beach ... You get to come in and experience a cultural moment and this really elevated, but quirky, food and beverage program.'
Alice Pearce, the executive director of the Ogunquit Chamber of Commerce, vouched for the Leavitt's food when asked to name something that has stood out for her during her visits to the theatre.
'Their fancy grilled cheese is absolutely killer,' she added.
Kevlik-Brown provided some details about that grilled cheese sandwich when describing the Leavitt's menu.
'It has tangy peppers and four different types of cheeses,' she said.
Clayton, who is skilled in trades, was doing some carpentry work in the theatre in early 2020 when he heard something troubling on the radio. People would be safe from COVID-19, the new, deadly, and unpredictable virus, if they avoided enclosed spaces where mass gatherings occur.
You know, places such as restaurants, bars, and movie theaters.
The Leavitt, of course, was all three.
'I thought it was curtains at first,' he said. 'That year, I really thought I was going to close.'
But that did not happen, thanks to a silver lining that the global health crisis produced: outdoor dining.
While the Claytons were not showing movies or offering live entertainment during the pandemic, they were able to host outdoor seating, right there on Main Street, and serve drinks and meals from the new dining area they opened in some adjoining space that had recently been vacated by a Rococo ice cream shop. That exposure brought the Leavitt's unique food and drink menu from high up in the balcony area inside the theatre to outdoors on Main Street for all to see and enjoy.
Now, just a couple of years after the pandemic, the Leavitt Theatre is alive and well for its centennial, thanks to the diversification of its programming, the introduction of the balcony-area bar and lounge and downstairs dining space, and, of course, the support of the community.
Pearce called the theatre a 'mainstay' of the community.
'It endures today, thanks to the stewardship of the Clayton family, who have continued to evolve the venue,' Pearce said. 'We are looking forward to celebrating with them this season!'
For all the changes and renovations at the Leavitt in recent years, the beloved theatre maintains its historical roots. Walking into the place, you can still look around and imagine what it must have been like for people a hundred years ago to go to the theatre to see the latest comedy by Harold Lloyd.
Classic movie posters fill the walls, including one whole area dedicated to the film noir genre known for its crime and detective stories. But there are modern classic movie posters, as well: "Jaws." "Rocky." "Alien." "Grease." "Ghostbusters."
The theatre's original movie projectors also can be seen on display.
And those seats. They're the same ones on which viewers sat a century ago. During a tour of the theatre Kevlik-Brown pointed out the undersides of the seats.
'On the bottom, there are hooks for men's top hats,' she said. 'We have a little bowler hat, and you can see how it fits right in.'
Then there is the living history, currently embodied by Clayton, who, at 39, has spent much of his life inside the theatre, even living in its upstairs apartment when he was a toddler.
Clayton said he can remember peeking through a hole his father had made in the kitchen wall and watching some of the movies that the Leavitt showed.
'We couldn't get the full audio, but I do remember eating Cheerios or pasta and watching movies through the hole in the wall,' Clayton said. 'It was always really cool.'
For Clayton, the top-to-bottom responsibilities of running an entertainment venue like the Leavitt are something with which he has been acquainted his whole life. To this day, if he finds himself sitting in the ticket booth in front of the theater, he is often recognized as the small kid who used to sit in his father's lap in that very spot as his father sold tickets throughout the 1990s.
'Yup, that's me,' he tells them.
For Clayton, the centennial is a shining moment that he is glad his family's theater could reach. There are not a lot of old, historic movie theaters left in America, truth be told. They've long been replaced by multiplexes, complete with IMAX screens and stadium-style seating, and even some of those have closed in recent years, due to the pandemic but also to people streaming movies on their large, flat-screen TVs at home.
Clayton said venues like the Leavitt are important to American communities and are a part of the country's cultural contributions to the world.
'The old cinema movie theaters are part of American history,' he said. 'Honestly, if you think about it, movies and cinema and Hollywood are pretty significant offerings to culture, globally, from America.'
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Leavitt Theatre celebrating 100 years of entertaining Ogunquit
