From its historical local charm, it its diverse lineup Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts is the place to be! Located in the heart of Patchogue Village’s downtown, the venue has been brining entertainment locally for over 100 years. Here are five reasons to purchase tickets and take a seat:
Support local theater and community: Patchogue Theater is a nonprofit facility relying heavily on funding to keep providing great events. Theater executive director Michele Rizzo-Berg said there are many ways to support the theater, the first being purchasing tickets and other ways through the website or by purchasing a seat or wall plaque.
Make it a night out on Main Street: With Main Street bars and restaurants aplenty, turn your ticket purchase in to a night out. “When we are successful, all the bars, restaurants and shops on Main Street are just as successful,” Rizzo-Berg said. “[Visitors] are spending their hard-earned money in the community.”
Big entertainment close to home: There is no need to travel into Manhattan for a memorable night of live entertainment. It’s a large theater with reasonable prices in their over 1,000-seat auditorium, a grand setting without losing the personal feel of a local venue.
There is something for everyone: The theater offers a very diverse lineup aside from traditional theater shows, including comedy shows, concerts, holiday productions and family events, providing opportunities to discover a new artist, see a longtime favorite or introduce children to the stage.
Experience a piece of history: Originally opened as Ward & Glynne’s Theater, it has been a part of the community for over 100 years. After closing in the late ‘80s, the theater was restored and reopened in 1998, revealing its ornate architecture and beautifully restored interior.
GET YOUR TICKETS
The Patchogue Theater for the Performing Arts is located at 71 E. Main St. in Patchogue. Upcoming lineup includes concerts, comedy shows, holiday productions, and family events.
Upcoming Lineup:
Upcoming 2027 Lineup
Box Office: 631-207-1313 (Open Wednesday–Sunday, noon to 6 p.m., with extended hours on show nights.) Visit patchoguetheater.org for more information or to purchase tickets.
ABOUT THE THEATER
For nearly 100 years, the Village of Patchogue has had a stage at the center of its community, the historic Patchogue Theatre venue that originally opened as Ward & Glynne’s Theatre, in 1923.
In its day, Patchogue Theatre attracted first-run feature films, Broadway productions, silent films, the very best in burlesque, vaudeville, and live music performances with acts such as Bette Davis, Eddie Foy and the Fabulous Foys, The Paul Whiteman Orchestra, The Marx Brothers, John Philip Sousa and Rose’s Royal Midgets, to name a few. During Patchogue Theatre’s early years, the price of admission only cost 40 cents for adults and half that price for children. Glynne operated the theatre until the Great Depression, when it was purchased by Prudential Playhouses Inc. Not long after, the days of vaudeville had come to a close, but an evolving film industry and updated sound equipment helped maintain the theatre as a major venue for first-run films on Long Island, while also serving as a community center for bingo, sing-alongs, and other activities.
After a fire hit the theatre lobby in 1958, the theatre was redecorated and designed in a simple and austere manner, with much of the ornate decor simply covered up by plywood, drywall and wallpaper. Patchogue Theatre continued to operate solely as a movie house, and in 1982, the ground floor was divided into two theatre screens with the addition of a ceiling to extend the balcony level for a third screen. Essentially, this turned the theatre into a “triplex,” which it continued to operate as until 1987 when the building was closed. The combination of both an economic recession and the opening of a 12-screen multiplex theatre nearby no longer allowed Patchogue Theatre to be profitable as a movie house. It stood empty for eight years, and an investigation of the building by village officials and business leaders in October 1994 found that much of the original decor had been preserved under the drywalls, wallpaper, and plywood that was installed in the late 1950s.
In 1996, three local businessmen came up with the initial funds to purchase the theatre while the Incorporated Village of Patchogue applied for grants to renovate and restore the venue to its former glory. The theatre’s interior was restored to its 1923 grandeur in several phases and The Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts (PTPA) opened for business with its first performance in December 1998.
Although the Village of Patchogue owns the historic Patchogue Theatre venue, the staff and volunteers of Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts manage the theatre, under the leadership of a volunteer board of directors, through a community-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization known as the Patchogue Village Center for the Performing Arts. PTPA leases the building from the Village of Patchogue and covers all of the costs of operating the building, including programming, without any taxpayer subsidies.
Since 2004, Patchogue Theatre has maintained a state-of-the-art world-class sound system and Broadway-caliber lighting and rigging. New, more spacious seating with better sightlines was installed by McHugh Institutional Furnishings in the winter of 2016. The new seats made their debut that spring at Patchogue Theatre’s first show back on April 2, featuring The Chapin Family.
There are now 854 orchestra seats and 252 balcony seats, bringing Patchogue Theatre’s total number of seats to 1,106, including the handicap-accessible seating throughout the orchestra level. This allows Patchogue Theatre for the Performing Arts to remain the largest theatre in Suffolk County.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here