Copyright The Boston Globe
Members of the Maine State Music Theatre found themselves near the scene of the jewelry heist at the Louvre Sunday during an arts and culture tour of Paris. “When MSMT goes on tour . . . drama follows!,” the nonprofit wrote Monday on Facebook with a link to a story broadcast by a Maine television news station. Speaking with WMTW Channel 8, Curt Dale Clark, the theatre organization’s artistic director said, it was an experience the group “will never forget.” According to The Associated Press, the Louvre was robbed 30 minutes after opening. Intruders used a basket lift to get into the museum, smashed display cases, and fled on scooters with French imperial era jewels. Advertisement The Maine tour group was on a staircase, about to enter the room next door to the Apollon Gallery, where the robbery took place, Dale told WMTW. The gallery is where the crown diamonds are displayed. The intruders entered from the outside using a basket lift that was stood against the riverfront facade, The Associated Press reported. Dale said French authorities action. When SWAT teams and the military arrived, the group “hightailed” out of the museum, he said. “We got very nervous about the whole thing, we did find everybody, we did get out of there,” Dale said. No one was injured, and authorities are still investigating the theft. The Maine State Music Theatre is a performing arts organization based on Bowdoin College’s campus in Brunswick. The organization puts on mainstage musicals, concert series, and family theatre. Advertisement Camille Bugayong can be reached at camille.bugayong@globe.com.
