Meeting Consensus: Keep the Playhouse, Maybe Expand It

New Canaan could do various things with the Playhouse building, owned by the town and now leased to Bow Tie Cinemas — construct a stage for live performances, have a film group operate from it,

But one option rejected or discouraged by most panelists and members of the public at a recent meeting was to close the place, even though the town doesn’t now make enough money to break even when its costs and rent revenues are compared, according to reports about the meeting this week.

In this year’s budget season, town officials are contemplating spending $2 million in repairs or renovations to the 1922 building, in part to bring it into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, the New Canaan Advertiser reported.

Town ownership of the building prevents it from being transformed into more downtown shops rather than an arts venue, said former town administrator George Miller, the Advertiser reported.

Tucker Murphy, executive director of the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce (a tenant in the building) and a member of the Town Council, said she thought the benefits of the Playhouse outweighed its financial cost to the town. She said the Playhouse helps bring people downtown who then may spend money on other retail businesses, according to the New Canaanite news website.

First Selectman Robert Mallozzi said he’d like to see a town committee set up to examine options for keeping the Playhouse in some way as an institution in town, the New Canaanite reported.