Centre Theater

Elmwood Park Zoo And The Centre Theater Partner To Support The Arts

Elmwood Park Zoo has partnered with the Centre Theater to produce all of the cultural exhibitions and theater productions to be hosted and performed at the historic building, located in the heart of Norristown. 

The partnership was forged when the zoo played an integral role in opening the Charles L. Blockson Exhibition at the theater in 2022, and it is set to continue through 2023 and beyond, with stage musicals that include Tuck Everlasting, which debuts Friday, March 3.

“We believe this collaboration between the zoo and the theater is a crucial piece in the revitalization of Norristown,” said Al Zone, Elmwood Park Zoo’s Executive Director and CEO. “Like the zoo, the Centre Theater is a destination for guests to learn and have fun. We hope that through the zoo’s support, the theater will attract more visitors and increase support of the arts in Montgomery County.” 

The Charles L. Blockson Exhibition opened at the theater in June 2022, and featured selections from Charles Blockson’s private collection of over 700,000 items and artifacts that are related to the global Black experience. The theater’s staging of Tuck Everlasting begins on March 3, with additional select dates running through March 19. Tickets are available on the theater’s website at www.thecentretheater.com.

The Greater Norristown Society for the Arts owns the Centre Theater, which has been the anchor of Norristown’s Arts Hill since 1996. Elmwood Park Zoo currently leases the theater space and runs its daily operations. The zoo has begun including the theater in various promotions and benefits it offers to its visitors, and it has plans for a shuttle service that will whisk guests from the zoo to the theater and back via a vintage trolley car. 

Erich Cawalla Quintet at Centre Theater

Recording artist Erich Cawalla and his jazz quintet perform at Norristown’s Centre Theater on Friday September 23rd. Doors open at 5:30 pm for complimentary hors d’oeuvres, wine and beer, as well as access to The Charles L. Blockson Exhibition

The performance begins at 7:30 PM.

Tickets are no longer available

 

Eric Cawalla appears as part of VFTCB’s Montco Jazz Fest, happening September 21 through 25. For more information, contact The Centre Theater here.

“The Charles L. Blockson Exhibition” to Debut at Norristown’s Centre Theater

Elmwood Park Zoo is proud to announce its role in the creation of a new exhibition featuring one of the world’s largest collections of African American history and culture. “The Charles L. Blockson Exhibition: an African and Afro-American Collection,” will feature portions of Charles Blockson’s private collection of over 700,000 items and artifacts that are related to the global Black experience. The exhibition will make its public debut on Juneteenth weekend, in a brand new gallery space built inside the historic Centre Theater in Norristown.

Born in Norristown in 1933, Charles L. Blockson is world renowned for his expertise in Black genealogy and the Underground Railroad. His collection (featuring rare books, current periodicals, letters, photographs, artifacts and memorabilia) was amassed throughout his life-spanning career as a historian, bibliophile and author. The Charles L. Blockson Exhibition focuses on his life’s work in documenting the global Black experience through history. The exhibition at the Centre Theater is made possible by Mr. Blockson, Curator Emeritus, and The Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection, Temple University.

“It is a special honor to have this exhibition in Norristown because it not only represents my life but the life of people of African descent, and the agony of enslavement and the ecstasy of freedom,” said Mr. Blockson.

A sampling of items scheduled to be on display represent:

  • Manuscripts from music artist Tupac Shakur
  • Memorabilia from Mr. Blockson’s youth
  • Images of rare books available at the Blockson Collection including The Underground Railroad by William Still.
  • Photos by John W. Mosley, a self-taught Philadelphian photographer who chronicled black life in and around Philadelphia from the late 1930s to the late 1960s  
  • “Men of Color” Civil War recruitment poster; issued in 1863, this promotion that urged African American men to enlist in the Union army was written by Frederick Douglass

The Charles L. Blockson Exhibition is one of many unique cultural offerings under development in an effort to provide Montgomery County residents with increased access to arts and culture. Elmwood Park Zoo and The Centre Theater are leading this movement, along with community liaisons such as the Norristown Borough Council and Norristown School District, as well as strategic partners such as the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board. 

“I am overwhelmed by Mr. Blockson’s dedication to preserving so many tremendous and important pieces of history, and his willingness to share these items in Norristown is an outstanding gift to the community,” said Al Zone, Elmwood Park Zoo’s Executive Director and CEO. “My hope is that with this exhibition, along with the Centre Theater performances, the Zoo, and all of our other arts and culture institutions, folks from all over the region will flock to Norristown to experience all that we have to offer.

Further details on the exhibition are available at the Centre Theatre Gallery website at https://thecentretheater.com/gallery/. The Centre Theater is operated by The Greater Norristown Society for the Arts, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. 
For information on supporting the Charles L. Blockson Exhibition, contact Jennifer Conti at jconti@elmwoodparkzoo.org or (610) 277-3825 x 229.

ELMWOOD PARK ZOO PARTNERS WITH CENTRE THEATER FOR NEW PERFORMANCE SERIES

NORRISTOWN, PA – Elmwood Park Zoo is pleased to announce a new partnership with The Centre Theater in Norristown that will combine zoo visits with admission to the iconic theater’s exciting new performance series. 

Centre Theater and its resident company, Theatre Non-Conforming, will kick off its new Family Series in April with a four week run of the beloved children’s classic “Pinocchio.” It will be followed in the summer by a run of “Tarzan™” (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. & Disney, All Rights Reserved), and conclude during the holidays with Charles Dickens’ timeless “A Christmas Carol.” 

“Pinocchio” performances begin April 16 and run through May 10. All shows are recommended for ages 5 and up. For guests with sensitivities to sound and light, two autism-friendly shows will be available on April 25 and April 30. 

Each ticket to “Pinocchio” will also include free Single Day Membership admission to Elmwood Park Zoo. The Zoo’s Yearly Members will receive exclusive discounts to the performances.

In addition to the partnership with Centre Theater, the Zoo has purchased a vintage trolley that it plans to use to transport its guests to and from the theater for the performances throughout the year. 

The trolley, a reconditioned 1980 Boyertown Trolley Bus, was purchased from American Trolley Tours in Philadelphia. The 22-seat trackless vehicle will initially travel between the Zoo and Centre Theater, with the intention of adding stops at other Norristown institutions in the near future.   

“We are so excited to support the arts and the amazing work being done by Centre Theater,” said Al Zone, Elmwood Park Zoo’s Executive Director and CEO. “I think the performances that Theatre Non-Conforming are planning will be fantastic and inspiring to children and adults of all ages.”   

Tickets for “Pinocchio” are on sale now at theatrenon.com/family-series.