The Aladdin Theater (also known as The Historic Cocoa Village Playhouse) is an historic

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actor, actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The p ...

Cocoa Cocoa may refer to: Chocolate * Chocolate * ''Theobroma cacao'', the cocoa tree * Cocoa bean, seed of ''Theobroma cacao'' * Chocolate liquor, or cocoa liquor, pure, liquid chocolate extracted from the cocoa bean, including both cocoa butter and ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

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. It is located at 300 Brevard Avenue and originally opened its doors on August 18, 1924. On October 17, 1991, it was added to the U.S.

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

Brevard Community College Eastern Florida State College, formerly Brevard Community College, is a public college in Brevard County, Florida. It is a member of the Florida College System and has campuses in Cocoa, Melbourne, Palm Bay, and Titusville, as well as a Virtu ...

owned the theater from 1985 to 2010. In the mid-eighties, the college had rescued the theater from a dilapidated state. In 2010 the college offered ownership to the city of Cocoa. The theater has its own board of directors. The annual budget for 2009 was about $263,000.

History

In 1924 the Aladdin Theater first started showing silent movies and live acts. It was built for $80,000. The Sparks Theater chain purchased the Aladdin in 1939 and changed its name to the "State Theater." The Kent Theater Chain purchased the building in 1960 and renamed it the Fine Arts Theater. Subsequently, the city of Cocoa bought the building and renamed it the Cocoa Village Playhouse. The city sold it to Brevard Community College for $1 in 1984. Through donations, and grants, the building was restored from 1985 through 1989. In 1990, the playhouse began staging community based musicals. In 2007, a $2.8 million annex was started. In 2011, the building was returned to the city of Cocoa. In 2012, there were 50,000 paying customers annually.

References

External links

{{commons category, Aladdin Theatre
Cocoa Village Playhouse
(official site)
Cocoa Village Playhouse
(additional info via Cocoa Village Publishing)

a
National Register of Historic PlacesFlorida's Office of Cultural and Historical Programs

Brevard County listings

Cocoa Village Playhouse
2009-10-24) a

2009-10-24) Buildings and structures in Brevard County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Brevard County, Florida Theatres on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Tourist attractions in Brevard County, Florida Theatres completed in 1924 Cocoa, Florida 1924 establishments in Florida