Canton, GA
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Theatre Events and Facilities Director
770-704-0755
kristin.green@cantonga.gov
Historic Canton Theatre
Upcoming Showings and Productions
Lift - Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers
- Date: 10/20/2024 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM
- Location: Canton Theatre
171 E Main St.
Canton, Georgia 30114
Join us Sunday, October 20th at 2pm for the second film in the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers. This free screening will feature the documentary "Lift", followed by a panel discussion with David Peterson (Director and Producer), Mary Recine (Producer), and Steven Melendez (Protagonist), moderated by the Peabody Film Festival Founder Brent Zaffino-Lambert. Special thanks to the Fox Theatre for their partnership in bringing this program to the Canton Theatre.
The Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers is a program of South Arts. This screening is supported in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Filmed over ten years, LIFT shines a spotlight on the invisible story of homelessness in America through the eyes of a group of young homeless and home-insecure ballet dancers in New York City. After performing all over the world, ballet dancer Steven Melendez returns to the Bronx shelter where he grew up to give back to his community, offering a New York Theatre Ballet workshop to children. His traumatic reaction to the shelter from his childhood sends him on an unexpected journey with three kids to reckon with a past he had escaped from through ballet. As young dance students, Victor, Yolanssie and Sharia face the same chasm of home insecurity that long separated Steven from his audience and makes the arts inaccessible to so many kids who share his background. The children he mentors offer him insight into turning a hidden trauma into dance, and together they make an aristocratic art form into an expression all their own.
History of the Theatre
As early as 1911, the Historic Canton Theatre was used to show slides and silent movies. Later, in the early 1920s, the Theatre changed owners and was renamed “The Bonita,” which held movie showings on Fridays and Saturdays.
During this era, the popularity of the Theatre grew rapidly. The Theatre was soon renovated, expanded, and renamed “The Haven.” It presented the people of Canton first line shows, including their first talking motion picture, the 1928 film “Singing Fool,” starring famous singing star Al Jolson.
The “Haven” continued to be a movie house for several more years until the late 1930s, when the Theatre was sold to the Martin-Thompson Theatre Company. The newly named “Canton Theatre” was then remodeled to reflect the Art Deco design so popular during that time.
The spectacular new Theatre had improvements that were truly unique, such as a steel skeleton for improved stability and safety. The fireproof walls and sprinkler system ensured that no fire would last long. New air conditioning and heating systems were installed in the Theatre to make it more comfortable for larger audiences. New restrooms and dressing rooms had a modernistic design. Red and blue uniformed employees at the “Candy Bar” sold candy and popcorn from the new popper, while an array of bright neon lights surrounded the Theatre, bathing it in colorful beauty. The size of the stage was expanded to make it larger than ever before. The new Canton Theatre was indeed a splendid site at the Grand Opening, which took place on September 30, 1940.
The Canton Theatre played the best motion pictures of the time. It was described as a “thoroughly modern sound and movie palace, with all the comfort, light, and cheer that denotes a first class picture theatre housed in the "larger cities.”
The Theatre continued to show movies for 30 more years, but by the mid 1970s, the popularity of the Theatre declined dramatically. Many guests felt that it had become too out of date. They wanted to see movies with the convenience of drive-ins and with many more choices. As a result, the Theatre sat idle for many years and subsequently went into disrepair.
In 1994, the Theatre was purchased by an individual for restoration. The City of Canton then acquired the property in a land swap in 1997. It was later deeded to the Downtown Development Authority in order to secure financing for restoration, which soon began. The Canton Theatre was restored to the Art Deco style of the 1930s and was reopened in a Dedication Ceremony, taking place on May 26, 2000.
Since that time, the Canton Theatre has become a community fixture, providing guests the opportunity to enjoy live theatre from both local and traveling productions, as well as entertainment from musicians, comedians and film screening events.