Criterion Theatre Will Begin Year With New Director.
COURTNEY SALE WILL HEAD THEATRE NEXT YEAR.
The Bar Harbor Story is generously sponsored by First National Bank.
BAR HARBOR—The Criterion Theatre has hired a new executive director.
Courtney Sale is expected to start in the position this winter.
On Thursday, the 1932 Criterion Theatre, Bar Harbor’s Art Deco cultural landmark, has announced Courtney Sale as its new executive director beginning in February 2026.
Sale will lead the revitalization efforts of the historic theatre focusing on programming multiple disciplines including music, theatre, film, dance, and lectures.
“To join the Criterion Theatre as Executive Director is a profound honor,” Sale said. “I am grateful to Harper House Music Foundation and Stephen and Allison Sullens for their visionary commitment to this beloved theatre. In an age of increasing isolation, our community arts spaces uniquely illuminate our shared humanity – a profound experience to which I have dedicated my entire career. I am excited to bring my experience to the Criterion and engage fully with the Mount Desert Island community to build an exciting future together.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to be working alongside Courtney at this juncture of the Criterion’s evolution,” Allison Sullens said. “Her experience and expertise in programming and development are incomparable. Her theater and production background is invaluable. She is the perfect person to take the Criterion into the future.”
Sale assumes the position of executive director at the 1932 Criterion Theatre following nearly six years as the Nancy L. Donahue Executive Artistic Director at Lowell, Massachusetts’ The Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT).
In her role as both the executive and artistic leadership of MRT, Sale stewarded the company through Covid closure and led the theatre to recovery in a time when many performing arts organizations did not survive. Among other projects, Sale oversaw the creation of a new mission and strategic plan, growth of MRT’s endowment, installation of a new lighting/sound grid, launch of a new website, and more. Under Sale’s artistic leadership, the MRT produced over 25 productions, more than a dozen readings, placed seven commissions, and engaged scores of artists and artisans. Sale’s adaptation of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol played three seasons, and her recent directing project, Misery, was a critical and box office success.
Prior to joining MRT, Sale served as artistic director of Seattle Children’s Theatre, the nation’s leading generator of new work for family audiences and Associate Artistic Director at Indiana Repertory Theatre. An accomplished director with a strong interest in new plays, Sale has developed new work at New Plays for Young Audiences at NYU/Provincetown Playhouse, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Dorset Theatre Festival, Denver Center, Contemporary American Theater Festival, The New Harmony Project, TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, and The Orchard Project. Awards and distinctions include Indianapolis Business Journal’s Forty Under Forty Designation and Cornish College’s Distinguished Alumni Award. A proud member of SDC and the National Theatre Conference, Sale holds a BFA from Cornish College of the Arts, and an MFA from the University of Texas at Austin.
The Merrimack Repertory Theatre (MRT) Board of Trustees also announced that Sale will step down from her role in January 2026 and assume the executive director position at the 1932 Criterion Theatre in Bar Harbor, Maine. Her last day at MRT is January 16, 2026.
The change comes in a year of revitalization for the theater.
Last April, the Criterion’s board unanimously voted to transfer the theater’s assets to the Harper House Music Foundation (HHMF), a non-profit public charity focused on supporting music communities and arts education.
Longtime Bar Harbor summer residents the Sullenses founded the Foundation, which pledged $1 million in operational, programming, and preservation support.
“Attending Criterion shows and events has been one of our favorite things about our time on MDI over the years,” Stephen Sullens had said at the time. “The theater is a true gem, and we deeply appreciate its role as a cultural cornerstone for Down East communities. Allison and I are thrilled to contribute to the Criterion’s preservation and in leading it in this next chapter.”
According to an April 2024 press release, “HHMF will partner with local stakeholders to steward the Criterion going forward as a vibrant, community-centered performing arts venue. In addition, HHMF is seeding the ‘HHMF Criterion Theatre Preservation Fund’, a donor-advised fund established with the Maine Community Foundation to accept donations to support the Criterion and further their community and music initiatives.”
Prior to HHMF’s purchase, the theater shuttered in the 2024-2025 winter months, closing completely and letting go of its staff.
A December 20, 2024 article by the Bangor Daily’s Bill Trotter, reported that the theater would be closing for an indefinite period to fix the rear brick wall of the building. This was confirmed in a press release from the theater’s board in January 2025.
The Art Deco theater features floating balconies. It is one of only two Art Deco theaters in the state. It is the only one that has maintained its original auditorium.
The theater first opened at 7 p.m., Monday, June 6, 1932 with a lavish celebration that lasted until after midnight. Almost 2,000 gathered for two separate shows. There were speeches and vaudeville acts. A seven-piece orchestra played and the theater screened “Arsene Lupin,” which starred John Barrymore, Lionel Barrymore, and Karen Morley. Telegrams came from Greta Garbo and Joan Crawford. They were read to the audience.
In 2012, Michael Boland created a nonprofit, the Bar Harbor Jazz Festival, and the structure was restored, and an anonymous donor gave $2 million in 2014 to help the theater survive and revive. The 13-member board was last led by Stephen Leiser, Nicholas Schoeder, Nicholas Walton, and Susan Raab.
The MRT’s press release lauded Sale’s work during her six years there.
“MRT is in a tremendous place because of Courtney Sale” said Karen Hartman, MRT board president. “It was impossible not to be inspired by Courtney’s enthusiasm for building community through theatre. The relationships she forged will have a lasting impact on MRT. We wish Courtney all the best in her next chapter. It has been an exciting time in the history of our organization.”
“It has been a privilege and a gift to steward MRT for nearly six years. When I began my tenure in March of 2020, I had no idea all that we would accomplish together. I am wildly proud of the theatre’s continued commitment to serving Lowell and its surrounding communities, the robust partnerships we forged, and our movement toward a more inclusive organization. This work has only happened because of the incredible staff, generous board, and our beloved community,” said Sale, reflecting on her tenure. “I will deeply miss all my MRT friends, and I leave the organization with full confidence in its position to thrive in all of its artistic and operational goals!”
Disclosure: Many years ago, I was the secretary and then vice president of the Criterion Board.
Unless otherwise specified, photos Carrie Jones/Bar Harbor Story.
ABOUT THE 1932 CRITERION THEATRE:
The 1932 Criterion Theatre has been a vital artistic cornerstone of the Mount Desert Island community since first opening in 1932. One of only two remaining Art Deco theaters in the state of Maine, the Criterion is the only one to have maintained its original auditorium, including its iconic floating balcony. 2025 saw the Criterion renew its long-term commitment to MDI and the surrounding communities with the transfer of all assets to Harper House Music Foundation (HHMF), a non-profit public charity focused on supporting music communities and arts education. Founded by longtime Bar Harbor summer residents Stephen and Allison Sullens, HHMF pledged $1 million in operational, programming, and preservation support while also announcing plans to partner with local stakeholders to steward the Criterion’s future as a vibrant, community-centered performing arts venue. In addition, HHMF will seed the “HHMF Criterion Theatre Preservation Fund,” a donor-advised fund established with the Maine Community Foundation to accept donations to support the iconic venue and further its community and music initiatives.
This summer saw the reopening of the 1932 Criterion Theatre celebrated with a very special concert by veteran San Francisco Bay Area rock band The Mother Hips and GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter Leslie Mendelson, followed by a diverse program of concerts and live performances from a wide-ranging array of internationally known musicians, comedians, and popular local artists including David Sedaris, local favorite comedian Bob Marley, The Mountain Goats, Craig Finn, Chris Thile, Asleep at the Wheel, Barrington Levy, Livingston Taylor, Steve Earle, and more. For upcoming shows and events, please visit www.criteriontheatre.org/events.
In addition, the Criterion will continue to screen an eclectic variety of classic and contemporary films. A complete schedule and showtimes can be found HERE.
ABOUT HARPER HOUSE MUSIC FOUNDATION (“HHMF”):
HHMF is centered around grantmaking to organizations serving musicians and investments that address “need gaps” where infrastructure and funding are lacking. HHMF has collaborated with and contributed to such vital charitable and educational organizations as the Americana Music Foundation, the Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie Centers, Berklee College of Music, Backline, Music Will, the Neal Casal Music Foundation, and Newport Festivals Foundation, while also working with such notable artists as Natalie Merchant, T-Bone Burnett, Rosanne Cash and Rhiannon Giddens, and Jim James. For more information, please visit harperhousemusicfoundation.org.
CONNECT WITH THE 1932 CRITERION THEATRE