Final curtain call: Court Square Theater to cease operations Dec. 31

Due to a lack of funding and low attendance, Court Square Theater in Downtown Harrisonburg will permanently close its doors on Dec. 31.

The Arts Council of the Valley voted on Dec. 17 to cease operations of the 260-seat performing arts center.

“Court Square Theater has played a significant role in the vibrancy of downtown Harrisonburg for more than 25 years,” said Austin Sachs, ACV board president. “We recognize this closure may be difficult for the many patrons who have attended films, concerts and live theater productions in that historic space.”

Created in 1998 inside a building that once housed Rockingham Motor Company, the once vibrant theater had less than 15,000 patrons this year.

“And, as is true of other small theaters, we’ve seen increasingly empty seats across all forms of programming,” Sachs said. “It’s almost impossible to charge enough per ticket for the seats we are likely to sell to cover performer and production costs – not to mention overhead – for most types of performances.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, as priorities for local governments shifted, ACV lost $371,450 in funding from the city and Rockingham County.

“We finally reached the point where continuing to operate the theater would possibly endanger the core mission of ACV – to cultivate the arts, create experiences and connect communities, and that is what brought us to this extremely difficult decision.”

ACV’s other programming areas including Advancing the Arts grants, First Fridays of the Valley, public art and Smith House Galleries are expected to continue without interruption.

The final performances on the calendar at Court Square Theater include:

• Dec. 20-21: Expressive Dance Studio presents “The Snow Palace,” Saturday show at 6 p.m. and Sunday show at 4 p.m.
• Dec. 24: Christmas Eve double feature showing “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” (1964) and “Frosty the Snowman” (1969), 11 a.m.

Arts Council of the Valley is located at 311 South Main Street in Harrisonburg.

For more information, visit valleyarts.org.