Kirkland Lake’s LaSalle Theatre a cornerstone of arts community

Kirkland Lake Mayor Stacy Wight is very encouraged with the efforts to save the LaSalle Theatre and bring it back to its former glory. This is the fifth installment of our ‘How Canada Wins’ summer series.

Kirkland Lake’s LaSalle Theatre has been a cornerstone of the local arts community for many decades, from vaudeville shows to first-run movies to live theatre and musical performances, the theatre has been a very rich part of local life.

According to the theatre’s website, the building was designed by Harle B. Long, a Kirkland Lake architect and constructed in 1939 by local investors and cost (at the time) of $125,000.

The theatre was closed in 1940 and used as a Pentacostal Tabernacle, then re-opened as a first-run film theatre in 1945.

Over the decades, the theatre has been under the ownership of several individuals and since 2013 the facility has been owned and run by a non-profit organization, simply called Save the LaSalle.

Since that time, many dedicated Kirkland Lakers, both former and new, have stepped up to bring the theatre back to its former glory.

The LaSalle Theatre Company, under the direction of managing artistic director Michael Rawley, has created an arts program that has not only brought an impressive lineup of plays and musicals to the community, it also in a very real sense has become a theatre arts school for local youth, some of whom have and are now studying theatre arts in colleges and universities.

Those involved with the non-profit are now going all in to not only save the building but to make it a new cornerstone, a go-to destination of choice for both locals and visitors.

In an interview, co-chairs Peggy MacDonald and Tina Pugliese sat down with the Northern News to discuss their vision of what they would like the theatre to become and how they look to accomplish their goal.

MacDonald said, “Our vision now, and has been I think, before I even came on as a fundraiser was to help to rebuild the theatre. It is in disrepair. It needs a ton of work. The school of dramatic arts that Michael is conducting in Kirkland Lake, even in a dilapidated place, has produced amazing work. For those who have gone to see the shows, they have been phenomenal and very well received.”

“The children of the community are really flooding to get to the stage because there is something different that they hadn’t considered before. Part of my fundraising goals was not only to help the operations to sustain the day-to-day expenditures that we have but to try and get it re-built, which is something that has been presented to the Town of Kirkland Lake since (Save-the LaSalle) bought it 12 years ago.”

MacDonald acknowledges some have been asking what the group has done with the monies that have been collected in various means to date.

“In a building of that nature, a ton of the money we have been able to raise through the generosity of the people of Kirkland Lake to keep the doors open has gone to repairs and refurbishments. We have had generous sponsors, from local businesses,” she said.

“Over the last six months or so we have been buoyed by the opportunities, the grants and the ability to present a couple of different options for both the building and the operations, to sustain both of those, with partnerships with corporate businesses in this area or outside of this area. What we are envisioning is a completely new facility.”

Pugliese added, “I think that is the exciting part here. We have two things going on; we have the situation we are currently living in which is the conditions of the building and while that is happening, we have a group of very motivated young people and a motivated artistic director, a motivated board, (that) wants to see this happen in Kirkland Lake.

“The bigger picture is to think forward on how Kirkland Lake can now become a central hub, so to speak, for the creative and performing arts of the north, for Northeastern Ontario.”

Pugliese noted they look to reach out and form alliances with local theatre arts organizations in the area. The building (however) itself is the biggest hurdle we have to cross, we have to solve.

She said, “We envision things like films, live theatre, music, visual arts, a venue for storytelling, a cultural centre, a recording studio. There are so many options, so many ideas, so many possibilities in that beautiful building that can serve Kirkland Lake and the surrounding area to bring people into Kirland Lake.”

Pugliese also stated there are many “ex-pats” who are wanting to contribute that have reached out to us about this.

For both Pugliese and MacDonald the ideal plan is to bring all of the various arts and cultural organizations together.

MacDonald said, “Ideally that is the goal, eventually to bring the arts together and support each other and create a destination to give people (another) reason to come to Kirkland Lake. Our idea is to create a destination for the arts, whether it’s the performing arts, visual arts, dance. We’ve got to align in order to help each other promote Kirkland Lake as a destination that is more than a hockey rink.”

Pugliese pointed out in several Ontario communities such as Niagara-On-The Lake, and Stratford, theatre is central to those communities and people will come for an entire weekend helping the local economy.

Looking ahead the short-term goal for the committee is to secure corporate support in various forms to keep the doors open.

MacDonald said, “We want regular money first, big money second. We would really love Kirkland Lake to embrace what we are doing. We want people to come and join us and see what we are doing and be inspired.”

In terms of support, Kirkland Lake Mayor Stacy Wight is very encouraged with the efforts to save the LaSalle Theatre and bring it back to its former glory.

She said, “We have undervalued the massive arts community that we have in Kirkland Lake. It is an incredible arts and cultural community that we have in Kirkland Lake.”

We love where we live, and throughout the summer, we are running a series of stories that highlight what makes our community unique and special within Canada. Follow along with the How Canada Wins series.

By Brad Sherratt, Northern News