Ritz Theatre (Haddon Township, New Jersey)
Encyclopedia
The Ritz Theatre is an active live producing theatre located in Haddon Township, New Jersey
in the southern part of New Jersey. It is home to The Ritz Theatre Company (formerly Puttin' on the Ritz, Inc.) The company produces mainstage plays and musicals, children's theater, runs a summer theatre arts day camp and reaches out to its community with educational and entertaining programming.
Built in a Colonial Revival
style, it was opened in 1927 as a vaudeville
theatre and later became a movie cinema before devolving into an adult movie theater in the 1970s.
With the advent of VCRs, the theatre closed until 1985, when Puttin' on the Ritz, Inc. began leasing it as its venue for live theater.
The group purchased the 466-seat theater in 2001, making it the permanent home of the ensemble.
In 2002, the Ritz was added to the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places
.
It is currently in the midst of renovation. To date, the roof has been replaced along with upgrading the electrical system and installing sprinklers. The lobby will be renovated with new carpeting and paint and work will begin on restoration of the front of the building and the classic marquee
as well as the classical Greek interior murals.
Haddon Township, New Jersey
Haddon Township is a Township in Camden County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2010 Census, the township population was 14,707....
in the southern part of New Jersey. It is home to The Ritz Theatre Company (formerly Puttin' on the Ritz, Inc.) The company produces mainstage plays and musicals, children's theater, runs a summer theatre arts day camp and reaches out to its community with educational and entertaining programming.
Built in a Colonial Revival
Colonial Revival architecture
The Colonial Revival was a nationalistic architectural style, garden design, and interior design movement in the United States which sought to revive elements of Georgian architecture, part of a broader Colonial Revival Movement in the arts. In the early 1890s Americans began to value their own...
style, it was opened in 1927 as a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
theatre and later became a movie cinema before devolving into an adult movie theater in the 1970s.
With the advent of VCRs, the theatre closed until 1985, when Puttin' on the Ritz, Inc. began leasing it as its venue for live theater.
The group purchased the 466-seat theater in 2001, making it the permanent home of the ensemble.
In 2002, the Ritz was added to the New Jersey and National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
.
It is currently in the midst of renovation. To date, the roof has been replaced along with upgrading the electrical system and installing sprinklers. The lobby will be renovated with new carpeting and paint and work will begin on restoration of the front of the building and the classic marquee
Marquee (sign)
A marquee is most commonly a structure placed over the entrance to a hotel or theatre. It has signage stating either the name of the establishment or, in the case of theatres, the play or movie and the artist appearing at that venue...
as well as the classical Greek interior murals.