Town Council approves playhouse theater lease, $2.3M in spending
NEW CANAAN — Town Council approved a lease and $2.35 million in spending on the Playhouse Theater this week after members of the public and the CEO of Cinema Lab spoke.
The council unanimously voted to approve the 10-year lease with Cinemal Lab for the entire 8,560-square-foot building. In addition, the building will receive $600,000 from American Rescue Act funds and up to $1 million for repairs and upgrades.
Cinema Lab is expected to spend $1.5 million to renovate the two-screen, 1923 theater by installing reclining seats with tables, improving the ambiance, adding a bar to serve alcohol and upgrading the 1,500 square-foot area upstairs for parties. The two theaters will each have 80 seats, a reduction from the 150 they have now, First Selectman Kevin Moynihan said.
Improvements needed to be passed to lease the property to any organization, Moynihan said.
“The town has to do some remediation to the building,” he explained. “We have owned it for 15 years and we have never done any of the work to bring it up to code and ADA compliance.”
The lease agreement will hopefully change and greatly enhance the profile of the entire downtown, Town Council Chairman Steve Karl said. “When the doors swing open to the Cinema Lab New Canaan Playhouse, with a refurbished unique look and feel, it will breathe new life into the downtown community,” he said.
Luke Parker Bowles, movie producer and chief executive of Cinema Lab, described his idea of what a community-centered theater might look like. In addition to offering first-run movies, the theater would also feature book and movie discussions, as well as children’s parties and possibly film education programming.
“We will be listening very, very carefully to the town,” Bowles said. He plans to offer the alternative programming early in the week, since theaters are usually quiet then.
The theater at 89 Elm St. is expect to open in spring 2023.
“I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the centennial than with the grand opening,” Karl said.
Prior to the votes, the council held a public hearing. Resident and filmmaker Jeff Marvin said he was very concerned that the theater might close at first.
“I consider it the heartbeat of the center of town,” Marvin said.
Resident Michael Covino called it a tremendous asset to the town.
Bowles liked the idea of the theater incorporating a film program in conjunction with New Canaan High School, in which it offers a film night where students can showcase their films.
Programming for children is important, Bowles said. He expects to offer children a “birthday party on the top floor, then the kids have one of the movie theaters to watch a film.”
He has also spoken to the New Canaan Library about having a book group upstairs and to host events in which the attendees can view a bookrelated film.
Moynihan said Cinema Lab’s ”business model is to find closed theaters and open them,” and seeks local “qualified investors.” The Bow Tie Cinema closed in January 2021, after the town agreed to terminate the lease citing the impact of COVID-19 on the business.
Bowles expects the experience to be very different from the movie chain. “We are not there to ‘Bow Tie’ it,” he said, noting that he wants it to blend into the town.
The company welcomes local, qualified investors.
While one member of the public raised concerns about Cinema Lab’s financial strength and questioned if money raised by local investors would be used to support other theaters, Bowles confirmed that any money invested in Playhouse LLC will “solely be used on the Playhouse.” Those who invest in the parent company, Cinema Lab, may have their funds flow to various projects.
The group has already raised more than the $300,000 required as a security deposit on the lease.