New Canaan Playhouse Committee Established to Identify Funding, Uses

What’s the best way to operate the town-owned New Canaan Playhouse?

That’s the heart of the question that the New Canaan Playhouse Committee is charged with addressing, members the Board of Selectmen said Tuesday as they formally appointed a panel of locals from the Town Council, selectmen and Board of Finance to make recommendations concerning future of the Elm Street fixture.

While officials have said New Canaan is not in danger of losing the building, the committee will consider funding mechanisms to raise the estimated $3 to $4 million to bring the 1923-built structure up to code, as well as additional uses for the space.

“The Playhouse Committee is tasked with the exploration of the public and private options leading to the funding of capital improvements, as noted in the 2015 budget review,” First Selectman Rob Mallozzi said during the meeting, held in the training room of the New Canaan Police Department. The committee is composed of John Engel, Steve Karl, and Joe Paladino of the Town Council, Neil Budnick of the Board of Finance and Beth Jones of the Board of Selectmen.

The issues with the Playhouse first arose during budget talks when the extent of the renovations were revealed. Since then, residents have expressed public support to keep the Playhouse under town control. The committee will look into what outside funds could be used to pay for renovations as well as identifying outside experts in the fields of movie theatre management and financing.

“We took a step with the League of Women Voters’ public forum and it was interesting and there’s a lot of options and a lot of people interested in the Playhouse’s importance to the whole community,” said Beth Jones, member of the Board of Selectmen and also a member of the pending Playhouse committee.

The New Canaan Playhouse has been a town fixture since its creation in 1923, a complement to the similarly cupola-topped Post Office that had stood across the street (now the Bank of America building). The Playhouse originally had one screen and was later converted to a dual-screen movie theater featuring first-run Hollywood films.