Community Corner

Curtains To Again Rise At Dormont's Hollywood Theater

Dormont Councilman John Maggio, head of the nonprofit opening the theater, envisions it as a community center that also will show sporting events and concerts.

Call it “Hollywood Theater The Sequel: Potomac Avenue Strikes Back?”

The Hollywood Theater, shuttered for a year after the last effort to reopen it failed, is set to reopen in May with the work of a nonprofit headed by Dormont Councilman John Maggio.

Maggio said the Friends of the Hollywood Theater’s mission is to have the theater serve as a sort of community center.

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Besides movies, the center can be used for film festivals, concerts and special events, such as viewing sporting events and the Academy Awards, he said.

Maggio is confident the third time will be the charm for the Hollywood.

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“We have a really solid group of people that live in the community and are more engaged with the community,” he said.

The group’s board includes Leonard Lies, of Dream Catchers Films, and Deron Gabriel, the borough’s solicitor.

Its advisory board includes Rick Sebak; state Rep. Dan Deasey; state Sen. ; Jennifer Baron, arts and culture editor for Pop City Media; and Muriel Moreland, president of the Dormont Historical Society.

The theater will show a mix of classics, independent and new release movies, he said.

The group has already lined up the 48 Hours Film Project to hold a festival there in July.

According to Maggio, his group will rent the building from the Bradley Center, which has lease on it, while it raises money to buy it.

Maggio said there's also a plan to show the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” with audience participation.

The theater will open part-time in May and add more showings in June, Maggio said.

The group, which formed in November, worked quietly because it wanted to have its 501C-3 nonprofit status in place before soliciting funds, Maggio said.

Maggio, who was involved in the last effort to revive the theater, said he’s long been a movie buff.

“I’m actually more of a movie person than pool person,” he said.


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