Corinth Theatre-Arts Announces Permanent Closure: ‘The Final Act’

CORINTH, Miss. — Corinth Theatre-Arts has announced its permanent and immediate closure, ending a run of nearly six decades as one of Mississippi’s oldest continually operated community theatres.

The announcement, titled “The Final Act,” was posted Friday under the tagline: “The lights go dark, but the legacy lives on.”

“A theatre is not just brick, mortar, and budgets—it is the people,” the statement reads. “It is with profound heartbreak that we announce the permanent and immediate closure of Corinth Theatre-Arts.”

Why the theatre is closing

The theatre’s Board of Directors cited “breaches of trust and financial issues” as the devastating circumstances that brought the organization to this point, while acknowledging that rumors and speculation have been circulating in the community.

“This circumstance does not reflect the integrity, dedication, or hours of labor given by our Board of Directors, volunteers, and artists,” the statement reads. “Our Board stepped up to guide this historic institution out of love for the arts, only to be left to pick up the pieces of an insurmountable situation they did not create.”

Closure follows loss of longtime home

The closure announcement comes just days after the group lost its legal fight to remain in its longtime home. The City of Corinth evicted Corinth Theatre-Arts from the city-owned playhouse at 303 South Fulton Drive, and the group’s appeal failed in Alcorn County Circuit Court late last month. The doors are now locked, with signs reading “No trespassing by order from the City of Corinth.”

Related: Corinth Theatre-Arts Eviction Stands After Appeal Fails

The dispute between the city and the theatre group played out for close to a year. In November, the Corinth Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted in executive session to evict the group and gave it 90 days to leave. The city won its eviction case in Alcorn County Justice Court, and although Circuit Judge Kelly Mims stayed enforcement of that judgment while the appeal was pending, the appeal was ultimately decided against the theatre group following a non-jury trial in late September.

Nearly 60 years of theatre in Corinth

Corinth Theatre-Arts was founded in 1968, making it one of the oldest community theatres in Mississippi and the longest continuously running theatre in North Mississippi. For nearly 60 years, the group made its home in the former fairgrounds exhibition building at 303 South Fulton Drive, staging multi-show seasons of dramas, comedies, musicals, and children’s productions powered by volunteers.

The theatre enjoyed a record-setting season in 2024, when its production of “Footloose the Musical” became the best-selling and most profitable show in the organization’s 56-year history. But trouble followed: federal tax records show the IRS automatically revoked the organization’s nonprofit tax-exempt status in March 2023 for failure to file required annual returns, and this summer a scheduled production was cancelled—the group held a “cast party for the show that never was.”

Related: The Show Must Go On: Corinth Theatre-Arts Puts On Record Breaking Performance

“The physical doors are closing under circumstances beyond our control, but no one can steal the community we built together,” the board’s statement reads. “To every person who ever stepped on our stage, worked backstage, sponsored a show, or bought a ticket: thank you for standing by us. The final curtain has fallen, but our shared love for the arts continues.”