The Colonial Theatre in Boston first opened its doors to a sold-out production of “Ben-Hur” on Dec. 20, 1900.
The lavish production brought eight live horses on stage for its iconic chariot scene. To imitate the race, the animals galloped on a revolving stage with fake smoke billowing around them.
“ A mechanism underneath the stage that was so revolutionary for its time that Scientific American wrote an article about how the technology worked,” said Tobie Stein, who wrote the definitive history on The Colonial Theatre…