Phoenixville’s loss is Wayne’s gain: Anthony Wayne Theater names new leader

The quiet campaign to reopen the Anthony Wayne Theater got a lot louder today, as the landmark’s nonprofit board named its first-ever executive director.

Jennifer Carlson was hired away from the Colonial Theatre in Phoenixville, where she held the same position for the last four years. She’ll run the show in Wayne, overseeing everything from fundraising and renovations to community partnerships and programming.

Carlson calls this “an exciting moment in the theater’s history… Throughout my career, I have been drawn to organizations that honor historic landmarks while creating intentional opportunities for community connection.”

She looks like a perfect fit. During her tenure at the Colonial, she shored up every aspect of the historic theater — its finances, infrastructure, programming and attendance — according to Meghan Sutherland, president of the theater’s board of directors.

In Wayne, Carlson takes on a new challenge: reinvigorating a town landmark that has fallen into disrepair and hasn’t screened a movie since The Call of the Wild in the early days of the pandemic.  The once beloved Anthony Wayne has sat dark and decaying since March of 2020, a black eye in the center of one of the Main Line’s most vibrant downtowns.

In 2024, a group of local business and arts leaders formed the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Anthony Wayne Theater and has spent the time since refining its vision and courting donors. The group needs to raise millions to realize its ambitious plans: gutting the century-old theater while preserving its art-deco marquee and converting it into a venue for movies, live shows, educational talks and community events.

The nonprofit’s board includes the daughter of filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, the executive director of Main Line School Night, the face of Fearless Restaurants (White Dog, Triple Crown, Rosalie, et al.), the executive director of Wayne Art Center, and a mix of small business owners and arts patrons.