North Shore Music Theatre May Rise Again

The Salem News reports that, William Hanney, owner of a theater in Rhode Island said he plans to buy the defunct North Shore Music Theatre and reopen for business next spring.

Hanney said he has signed a purchase and sale agreement with Citizens Bank to buy the property and expects to close on the deal soon.

"I would love to see it off the ground and have a show sometime in the spring," Hanney told the paper. "I want to bring it back to life."

Hanney owns Theatre by the Sea in Matunuck, R.I., as well as a chain of 10 movie theaters in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and Connecticut.

North Shore Music Theatre closed in June due to mounting financial problems. Fellows said the board of trustees had turned the property and assets over to Citizens Bank, which foreclosed on the theater's two mortgages, which total about $5.2 million.