Following years of fundraising and construction, The Bedford Playhouse is ready for its first screening. The 167-seat theater at 633 Old Post Road will open its doors during Memorial Day weekend to screen two films for the public during: “Singin”™ in the Rain” on Saturday evening and “ET” on Sunday afternoon.
The theater expects to offer limited programming on select weekends throughout the summer before hosting a grand opening this fall. The theater will host film-related programs and other arts events.
“We are enormously excited to be opening the doors to our state-of-the-art main theater during summer weekends,” said Playhouse founder John Farr. “Our public has been so patient; now comes the reward.”
Farr added that the summer programming will “be a valuable period to test, learn and get the buzz going about what an incredible space we’ve created.”
Construction of the café and remaining two theaters will continue throughout the summer.
Opened in 1947, the former two-screen theater was acquired by New York City-based developer Alchemy Properties in 2013. After the theater”™s tenant, Ridgefield-based Bow Tie Cinemas, chose not to renew its lease in January 2015, Alchemy Properties explored converting the Bedford Playhouse into a retail space. To halt those plans, a deal was struck between Alchemy and Bedford Playhouse Inc. Since the winter of 2015, donors have come together to raise more than $7 million to renovate and operate the theater.
Most recently, legendary music producer and head of industry giants such as Columbia Records and RCA Music Group, Clive Davis, made a major pledge to help fund the transformation of the Bedford Playhouse and established the Clive Davis Arts Center at Bedford Playhouse. The Davis Center will encompass all the arts programming offered beyond film, including music performances, theater, art exhibits and stand-up comedy.
For more information, visit bedfordplayhouse.org.
