The Schwartz Center in downtown Dover hosted a rare performance last week as officials continue to look to bring the venue back in a more permanent way.
The Christmas Cartoon Trio performed music from a Charlie Brown Christmas at the Schwartz Friday night. The local band “Fig Tree” also performed.
It was one of the few shows the theater has seen since closing in 2017 due to low ticket sales. A few dozen were in attendance.
There’s been some recent effort by local officials and community members to bring the theater back on a more stable basis.
Downtown Dover Partnership (DDP) executive director Diane Laird says she hopes the event sparks even more interest.
“My hope is that some people will go into that theater that have never been there before and will get on board to start a local grassroots effort to get that opened more permanently,” said Laird.
Taxpayers helped fund a multi-million-dollar revitalization of the theater when it first reopened back in 2001.
The Schwartz is now part and parcel of Delaware State University’s (DSU) acquisition of Wesley College.
Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen is among those who want to see the venue brought back in a more permanent way.
“And I think it’s up to us as partners—Del State, Downtown Dover Partnership and certainly the city of Dover to make sure it keeps rising out of the ashes and takes off as a viable part of our Downtown redevelopment program,” said Christiansen.
Friday’s performance was supported by DSU and the DDP, but a DSU spokesperson says long term use of the theater is still under consideration.
Delaware Public Media' s arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.