The town could open the Playhouse on Elm Street with a movie operator in place as early as Thanksgiving, according to New Canaan’s highest elected official.
Though municipal officials had thought at first they could reopen the theater without addressing some interior improvements, the town’s strategy now is to fix problems both inside and outside the 1923 building first, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said.
Specifically, improvements have to do with “ADA compliance and things like the bathrooms that just have to be done to make it a serviceable venue,” he told NewCanaanite.com in an interview.
“We thought we could continue to operate but it’s time to really just do them now and keep the place closed for a little longer to get them done,” Moynihan said. “So, best case, we are probably looking at Thanksgiving time to reopen.”
Closed since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and available to a new tenant since Bow Tie Cinemas terminated its lease in December, the iconic movie house already is getting new roofing this year. A movie theater fund, built over years of taking in rent for the town-owned Playhouse, stands at about $850,000, Moynihan said. The ADA-related improvements needed will cost about $1.5 million, he said.
Meanwhile, several operators are interested in running The Playhouse as a first-run movie theater, Moynihan has said.
“We’re fortunate with Darien having closed and Wilton having closed that people regard this as a good market and it does’t compete with the Stamford and Norwalk larger theater complexes, so we are eligible to have first-run movies,” he said.