Community Theater

As the manager of The Community theatre I would like to let you know that it is in fact now reopened. It is now called The Community Theatre Foundation. The purpose of the foundation was to reopen the theater and run a film school and a film festival as part of the theatre. The structure of the building was not changed as it was reopened. It has a new coat of paint but it basically looks the same. The theatre is now a non profit independent theatre and is staffed by volunteers. The theatre is doing well at the moment but we always need support whether it is through a donation by volunteering or simply coming to enjoy an evening at the movies. I hope to see everyone there.

Also the theatre only has 600 seats. The number given in the description might be including the closed side of the balcony and the seats that it used to have. The closed off section of our balcony however dose not have any seats in it.

THE COMUNITY THEATER - HOME TO THE FIRST WESTPORT YOUTH FILM FESTIVAL!

VISIT www.westportyouthfilmfest.org FOR MORE INFORMATION

I really think that in this day and age there should be a listing or at least a phone number to call to find out the movies playing in this theater. I think that it is ridiculus that there is no information provided in order to contact this Fairfield Community Theater.

What are you smoking? The Community Theatre Foundation faithfully updates their listings in every major newspaper and in all the online movie listing guides. They also have a phone number with a recording telling you the showtimes. They are a community-owned, non-profit, second run/art cinema. Having a website of their own may not be feasible, but you have to be intentionally ignorant not to come across their showtimes.

Dear Piggy...it IS "riciculus". Everything is RIDICULUS. Commonsense is RIDICULUS and so is using the phone book, the phone information service, reading the ads in the press or even using the internet google directory. RIDICULUS. Imagine being a whining consumer and no one will tell you stuff.RIDICULUS.

well, i have never been so insulted, Paulb! Who do you think you are?

Rhett Butler, and frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

and also, i did call (for 45 minutes) and no one picked up the phone and no recording sounded. i was not trying to bash your wonderful theater here, i was just saying maybe it would be nice to have a web site posting. i did not know this was such a sore subject. thank you for letting me know they are in the newspaper, roger. i will look in there next time.

piggy: http://movies.yahoo.com/showtimes/showtimes.html?z=fairfield,ct&r=sim&m=&t=Community%20Theatre%20Foundation&a=&dt=0&s=tm&p=0 will get you their showtimes

thanks roger!!

I have heard there are volunteer oportunities at the theater. Please contact me.

The address for the community theatre is 1424 Post Road, Fairfield, Ct.

The theatre does have a web site, with showtimes!

The Community first opened on April 19, 1922, and had Oreste Zircoli as architect. The original organ was manufactured by American Photoplayer.

The Community Theater is a community treasure. They play quite a few foreign films that are hard to find elsewhere, and the price is always just $3. The best thing about it is the downtown location with shops and restaurants nearby. Much nicer than the multiplex theaters with their mall-like atmosphere.

This is a quaint old theatre in downtown Fairfield and they provide a bunch of special programs for everyone including children, seniors and my favorite "cinemoms" a free screening on Friday afternoons for mothers (or fathers) with babies. Thanks to the volunteers. Check their website for more info - there is a link provided by Knutsen a few posts above this one.

Why is one side of the balcony closed off?

RobertR - One of the balconies was closed off because there is now an office where the staircase used to be. The only way up to that balcony is up the other staircase which if it were to be used would disrupt the audience on that side if there is a movie running at that time. Hope this answers your question and if anyone else would like any information feel free to email staff@communitytheatrefoundation.org

The only thing sorely missing from this place is availability of REAL BUTTER on the popcorn. Might I suggest making this available, for a fee, of course, at ALL movie theaters?? Not every one of us wants that "buttery flavor" Mazola on our popcorn!

Marquee photo:
http://www.fcbee.com/reviews/entertainment/community_theatre.htm

Nice large color photo of the Community Twin.
http://www.agilitynut.com/05/8/commthe.jpg

I have attended this theater both prior to and following its "twinning". If there were better movies today,I would frequent it more often, as this is one of the few places you can get a small sense of what movie theaters were like in their heyday.My favorite story about this theater was, approximately 16 or 17 years ago I attended a viewing. When they changed reels, the segue was so choppy that afterwards, I found myself discussing this with one of the patrons and suggesting that maybe they "lost a reel" in the process. Afterwards, I was listening to a review of the movie on the radio and discovered that I had been conversing with the critic herself, who mentioned our conversation in her review!

I saw that there was a "family friendly" movie playing there today, so I brought along my wife and daughter, who had never been to the theater. It was a little shabbier than I remembered it, but still at least struggling to exist. The theater was manned (or, should I say, "adolescened") by teens and pre-teens who did all the jobs, such as taking care of the tickets, refreshments, and ushering. The tickets aew $4, a bargain in this age. The popcorn and soda were great and very low-priced. I don't know if the kids did the projector also, but I was quite surprised to see the movie began at precisely the time advertised...for all of about five seconds. Then, there was a deafening roar and the screen went black. After a bit, one of the teens came into the audiorium and apologized to the audience, stating "there was something wrong with the projector" and "it would be abour five minutes" before it could be fixed. About 25 minutes later, the movie began, shortly beyond the point of trouble. Despite all this, I'm happy to see concerned citizens doing what they can to keep this movie house going, and, if they make good enough movies, I'll be back.

Here is another photo of the Community Theater.

Thanks, Lost, for your photo. It is a familiar sight as I often pass by it on the way to work. I attended another screening after the one I described above, and there were no problems whatsoever, and all had a great time. This is a community treasure that should be supported.

Here is a link to the CinemaTour website with many interior and exterior photos of the Community Theatre.
www.cinematour.com/tour/us/3927.html

There's an old photo of this theater on page 24 in Images of America: Fairfield.

The Fairfield City Directory shows the Fairfield Theatre opened in 1920 at 859 Post Road and becomes the present incarnation on 7 Unquowa Road.

This is another photo of the Community Theater.