Brawley Playhouse Theater Continues Fundraising for Renovations

BRAWLEY, Calif.- Major renovations and remodeling continue on the Brawley Playhouse Theater in Imperial Valley, as they ramp up fundraising efforts, including selling tee-shirts, beef jerky, and coffee, outside of the theater during the day.

The project is being led by the Brawley Community Foundation. The historic theater closed in 1979, following an earthquake. It remained vacant until 2018.

Over one million dollars has already been invested in the renovation project since 2021, with repairs to the structure, balcony, and roof underway.

Ryan Brandt, a film directory, who refers to himself as a "tenant" of the theater shared how he became involved in the project.

"The roof was coming down. I owned the theater for like a couple months. Glen Huber gave it to me and I gave it to the Brawley Community Foundation. I didn't want someone to get hurt and stuff so. The Brawley Community Foundation took it on and they gutted out the main roof," Brandt said.

Despite the ongoing construction, the theater plans to host more community events to bolster their fundraising efforts. They opened up the theater to a scary movie screening and haunted house for Halloween 2025.

"We're trying to do it on the holidays. So definitely um Christmas and Halloween we're doing. We might do a Spring one, maybe for Easter. We're trying to think about the holidays to get, to get something going," Brandt explained.

The theater has plans to build a snack bar, upgrade the bathrooms to be ADA compliant, and install new seating.