Mar-va Theater

The Mar-va Theater is a historic theater located in downtown Pocomoke City, Maryland. The Mar-va Theater is the largest theater south of Wilmington, Delaware with originally 720 seats. Mr & Mrs. Frank Barlett built the Marva Theater in 1927 with an estimated total cost of $250,000. When you first walk into the historic Mar-va Theater you are overwhelmed by all all the pictures on the walls of past performances and the box office. It has been said that the best seats in the house are on the balcony because of the overview of the stage. Currently, the Mar-va Theater is selling "seats" at $200 each. The donors will have a permanent nameplate on the back of their seat. If a donation of $500 is made you will be featured on the permanent plaque in the lobby. If you are ever in the town of Pocomoke City, you should stop by the historical Mar-va Theater to enjoy a movie or a play being presented.

The Mar-va Theater is a creative but distinctive name. It comes from its location since the theater is located in Maryland just a short distance from the Virginia state line. It was constructed in 1927 and is a two-story brick building. Back in 1927 a movie ticket was only 10 cents compared to $8.00 today. The Mar-va Theater was used was a vaudeville theater and held dressing rooms, stage facilities, orchestra pits. The Mar-va was a place for locals to hangout and either watch the latest movie out or listen to some famous performers. Some that have performed in the Mar-va Theater are Roy Rogers, Hop-a-Long Cassidy and Smiley Burnett. 
The theater opened on December 1, 1927 while John & Lester Fox were the managers, and J. Dawson Clarke played the piano. Unfortunately, John Fox passed away and J. Dawson Clarke along with Orville Mason proceeded to buy the theater in 1967. In result of this ownership change, Dawson and his wife Hattie took over control of the Mar-va Theater. To this day, plays are being show and movies are shown once or twice a month. This is a great place to gather up some friends and family for a cheap night out and a good time. The historical Mar-va theater is a key location in downtown Pocomoke City and will forever been a historical place to visit. 
Inside of the Mar-va Theater visitors have the choice of going upstairs to the balcony or sitting on the floor level. Back when the theater first opened soda was sold at the parlor next door for 10 cents along with popcorn for 10 cents as well. A movie ticket was only $0.10 but steadily incased as time passed on.  When the Mar-va theater closed down in 1933 a movie ticket was only $3.50. There is reason that the Mar-va closed down in 1933 because of low attendance and bills were starting to increase. But, some short years ago the historical Mar-va Theater was re-opened with the help of the citizens of Pocomoke City and will hopefully remain in business. 

General Information: http://marvatheater.com/about.html