New Sewickley Movie Theater To Open Soon
SEWICKLEY (KDKA) -- Construction work is well underway on this region's newest movie theater and cultural center in Sewickley.
"We noticed a need to extend Pittsburgh's cultural vibrancy beyond the city into the suburbs to provide easier access to quality films to those who live here," Carolina Beyers, executive director of the Tull Family Theater, told KDKA money editor Jon Delano on Wednesday.
It's called the Tull Family Theater after a half million dollar donation from Thomas Tull, part owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers and CEO of Legendary Entertainment that produced movies like "The Dark Knight Rises."
The theater will feature a 169-seat screening room with a large 34-foot by 14-foot screen, and a smaller 79-seat screening room for film festivals, along with a still-to-be completed multi-purpose room.
"We are hoping to host live, small-scale performances, comedy shows, and a lot of educational and outreach as well," said Beyers.
The films here will largely be high-quality independent films.
"These films will be distributed by smaller distributors, and therefore, they're not the major blockbusters that you usually watch in the multiplexes," Beyers said.
Think the Manor Theater in Squirrel Hill. The same programmer for that theater will program movies for the Sewickley theater.
There's been a revival in old smaller community movie houses -- like the Hollywood in Dormont, the Oaks in Oakmont, and the under reconstruction Denis Theatre in Mt. Lebanon.
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Sewickley lost its theater in 1979 and opted to build a brand new one instead.
If all goes according to plan, this theater and these ticket booths by late January or early February.
General admission ticket price is $11, with seniors and children paying $8.80 per ticket.
To succeed, supporters say the Tull Family Theater must attract an audience from all over.
