In the heart of our thriving downtown scene, you can envision it—a small, bustling independent theater on the corner of South and Market Streets. A beautiful and social space, The Lyric will be another draw to Downtown Wooster. The place to go to be entertained by a film, live music and more. A theater accessible to everyone to enjoy, to experience and to share the common ground of storytelling.
Let’s get together at The Lyric.
One summer day in 2018, two Wooster residents out and about on a daily walk through downtown passed by the old movie theater and asked themselves, “what if?” What if movies were to come back to downtown? What if we turned the old theater into a new kind of movie-going experience? What if we started a non-profit, community-supported group to make that happen?
As they talked with friends and neighbors, they quickly found others who had been envisioning the same addition to Wooster’s vibrant downtown. Together they began researching the possibility—finding out how other small towns had brought movie theaters back to life and creating a plan to do it themselves.
That first “what if" has grown from two people to an established 501(c)(3) non-profit led by an Executive Director and a Board of 11 Trustees, all passionate about bringing an independent cinema and live event space back to downtown Wooster.
a community origin story
transforming the past into the future
Just mentioning The Lyric to locals all around evokes feelings of nostalgia, usually followed by a smile. Immediately, people are flooded with memories of first dates, favorite movies and a sense of community. The Lyric has a rich history in downtown Wooster, and we plan to honor that legacy as we look to the future of a community-focused independent theater and live event space in Downtown Wooster.