The New Canaan Board of Selectmen is recommending the allocation of $1 million from American Rescue Plan Act funds to ready the town”™s defunct cinema, The Playhouse, for a new operator.
According to a report in the NewCanaanite.com blog, the federal funds would be added to about $804,000 already in reserve to perform what First Selectman Kevin Moynihan defined as a significant amount of upgrades to the building” ”“ which would include the completion of an ongoing roof replacement, renovations to the property”™s brick exterior and upgrades to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Built in 1923, the two-screen Playhouse closed in March 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, reopening briefly three months later before shutting down again. Bow Tie Cinemas, the theater”™s operator, successfully terminated its lease on the property, which also includes with a street-level florist shop and two nonprofits based in offices on its second floor.
Moynihan said a new operator is planning to make a “substantial investment” for “substantial improvements to the experience” inside the theater, although he did not identify the entity that is replacing Bow Tie Cinemas. Moynihan added The Playhouse could be open again around Thanksgiving.
