Group raising money to reopen Marblehead theatre

MARBLEHEAD – A determined group of local volunteers is seeking to raise $1.3 million to reopen the Warwick Theatre as a self-sustaining non-profit operation and they are negotiating a lease with the owners of the former theater building.Local design consultant Michael McCloskey advocated last winter for reopening the theater in its former location at 117-129 Pleasant St. as part of a three-story commercial and office structure that will be developed by the Warwick Place Realty Trust.However, the trust?s lawyer, Paul Lynch, said at permit hearings that the theatre façade and marquee will be preserved as a salute to the movie house that flourished there from 1919-1999, but he declined to commit to the reopening of the theatre.McCloskey and another non-profit he helped to create, Marblehead 20/20, have been working to reopen the theatre since 2005. That work intensified during the permitting process for the Warwick Trust.?We started the Warwick Theatre Foundation in January. We mobilized when we realized what was happening,” McCloskey said.He is chairman of the foundation?s board of directors.Since then the foundation has received a letter of intent to lease from the Warwick Trust and is currently negotiating the terms of a lease.An anonymous Swampscott donor has already issued a matching pledge challenge of $25,000, and Marblehead residents Kathy and Ted Truscott, active supporters of local arts programs, have donated $100,000. The foundation has also applied for a Massachusetts Cultural Council Facilities Fund grant that could add as much as $575,000 to the project funds.The Warwick Theatre Foundation will hold its first fundraiser at Abbot Hall Saturday, Oct. 22. Foundation officers McCloskey and Beth Wheeler told selectmen Wednesday the event will be similar to the annual Marblehead Arts Festival fundraisers, with light refreshments and an auction, and the selectmen unanimously granted permission.