New Theater Space, The Canon Theatre, Opens in Canonsburg

Washington County has welcomed a new performing arts venue with the opening of the 560-seat Canon Theatre in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, WESA reports. The theater, located in the former Canon-McMillan Middle School auditorium, will host live theater, concerts, film screenings, speakers and other events.

The venue is owned and operated by the Canonsburg Educational & Cultural Institute (CECI), a nonprofit organization established to purchase and transform the shuttered school into a community center. Canonsburg, a town of approximately 10,000 residents about 20 miles south of Pittsburgh, is home to the theater, which occupies an auditorium originally built in 1931.

CECI vice-president and treasurer Paul Scarmazzi said the organization was formed about six years ago and conducted research into the community's needs before developing plans for the venue. Scarmazzi, CEO of Scarmazzi Homes, and his wife, Lisa, who also serves on the CECI board, are sponsoring the theater's name for its first 15 years.

The venue will also serve as the new home of Little Lake Theatre, a long-running theater company based a short drive east of Canonsburg.

The $3 million theater project represents the first phase of a larger redevelopment plan for the six-acre campus, which contains 140,000 square feet of indoor space across multiple buildings.

A feasibility study commissioned by CECI projected that the Canon Theatre could generate an estimated $13.8 million in economic impact during its first full year of operation.

The theater's first scheduled event is an Oct. 17 screening of “Ghostbusters.” Its first live event will be an Oct. 24 concert by local rock band The Clarks, which has already sold out.

Read the original story on WESA.