Photo by Cameron Healy
In March, St. Pete Beach’s The Beach Theatre changed ownership. Since then, they’ve focused on renovations to the building to bring it back to the community. In 2025, they celebrate their 85th anniversary by rolling out their “revival season.” The Beach Theatre announced that the theater will reopen July 18.
25-year-old Hannah Hockman owns and manages the theater, along with her parents Ron and Sissy. Throughout their time of owning the building, Hockman has consistently posted YouTube videos talking about the progress with the theater.
In a recent video, she showed construction progress, and spoke about the future for the theater. As part of the renovation process, Hockman re-designed the lobby, pushing the concession stand back from the doors to make a larger lobby to host small events. She hopes people will enjoy concessions, like fountain drinks, wine, beer, and theater snacks, to the tune of a live piano in the corner.
85 Years of St. Pete Beach’s The Beach Theatre
Following Hurricane Helene, the theater faced 6 feet of flooding. According to Hockman, the 85-year-old stage was 5 feet above ground. Because of the water damage to the floorboards, they need to replace the stage before opening.
“Hopefully the next stage will last another 85 years,” Hockman said in her video.
Despite this setback, the future is bright for St. Pete Beach’s The Beach Theatre. Their 85th anniversary is on Jan. 15, and they plan to celebrate with the community on the Corey Avenue Sunday Market on Jan. 19. Here, they’ll be talking about their plans for reopening, releasing their first batch of tickets, and announcing multiple events for the year.
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