The Beach Theater is showing its first film series in 10 years in Horan Park this Summer.
Gabby Reeder
For the first time in 10 years, the Beach Theatre is holding a film screening, but it won’t be inside the blue building on Corey Avenue on St. Pete Beach.
Starting June 1, the Beach Theatre will unveil the new summer series, “JUDY AT 100.” It’s composed of four outdoor screenings of films featuring Judy Garland on the first four Wednesdays in June in Horan Park. The series isn’t just a historical event for the theater, it’s a celebration of what would have been Garland’s 100th birthday.
Why Garland?
I think she [Judy Garland] has this appeal that she is adored, and regarded as the greatest entertainer of her time,” said Joey Hager, Director of Operations & Programming at the Beach Theatre. “Between folks on the beach, St. Pete, and Tampa, she has that widespread appeal that gets people interested.”
The lineup (every Wednesday in June at 7 p.m.) is The Wizard of Oz, The Clock, Summer Stock, and A Star is Born.
Hager remembers the days before he was on the reopening team, the same days when he would occasionally peek into the windows of the building hoping for a sign of reopening.
“When I hung the summer series posters up, I remembered all those years I wished it was open,” Hager said. “It’s an honor to breathe a little life into this place.”
Staff hopes the Beach Theatre will reopen by the end of the year, but a clear timeline is still up in the air.
The summer series is a collaboration by the theater and the City of St. Pete Beach. The shuttered movie theater is still under heavy renovation, but the Horan Park series will serve as a chance to raise funds. The films themselves may be free, but donations are much appreciated – and greatly needed.
“There’s still a lot of work to be done; we’re really hoping for a donor,” Hager said. “These kinds of projects are great, but there are small potatoes at the end of the day. We’re hoping to find a donor to step in.”
Find the lineup and more information online.
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