The Historic Canton Theatre, 171 E. Main St.

The Historic Canton Theatre is a City of Canton venue on Main Street. The City’s theatre page carries its schedule, and the City lists its Theatre Events and Facilities Director as the contact, at 770-704-0755. The theatre hosts local and touring plays, music, comedy and film screenings.

• The Historic Canton Theatre is at 171 E. Main St., Canton, GA 30114. Explore Canton: Canton Theatre
• The theatre hosts local and touring plays, music, comedy and film screenings. The City lists its Theatre Events and Facilities Director as the contact, at 770-704-0755. City of Canton: Historic Canton Theatre
• Explore Canton's Buy Tickets link for the theatre goes to the City's online store at cantonga.governmentwindow.com. Explore Canton: Canton Theatre

What is on

These are the shows on the City’s theatre schedule as we read it on Oct. 18, 2026. Each card shows its source.

• Wed., Oct. 21: All Call Dance Class, 7 to 8 PM.
• Fri., Oct. 23: Halloween movie, The Shining, 7 to 9 PM.
• Wed., Oct. 28: Canton City Limits: Storyteller Night, 7 to 9 PM.
• Sat., Nov. 7: Joe Lemmo Comedy and Friends, 8 to 10 PM.
• Sat., Nov. 14: Trial by Fire, a Journey tribute band, 7 to 9 PM.
• Sat., Nov. 21: Jeremy presents: Grunge Unplugged with Strings, 8 to 10 PM.
• Dec. 4 to 13: A Dickens’ Christmas Carol by the Cherokee Theatre Company, Fridays and Saturdays (Dec. 4, 5, 11 and 12) at 8 PM and Sundays (Dec. 6 and 13) at 2:30 PM.
• Sat., Dec. 19: holiday movies, Elf at 3 PM and White Christmas at 7 PM.
• March 5 to 14, 2027: Black Comedy by the Cherokee Theatre Company.
• May 7 to 15, 2027: Cat On a Hot Tin Roof by the Cherokee Theatre Company. We read the first page of the schedule; a final date may be on the second.

The City spells the December play two ways: A Dicken’s Christmas Carol in 2025 and A Dickens’ Christmas Carol in 2026. We use the 2026 spelling.

Two calendars, two lists

Explore Canton keeps its own list of theatre events, and it does not always match the City’s. It shows an open mic night, Canton City Limits: Open Mic + Music and More, on Tuesday, Nov. 17, 2026, which is not on the City’s schedule, and the text of that listing still asks people to sign up for April 14. Because the City runs the theatre, we go by the City’s schedule and leave the Nov. 17 open mic off until the City lists it.

How to buy tickets

Explore Canton’s Buy Tickets link for the theatre goes to the City’s online store at cantonga.governmentwindow.com. For anything else, call the City’s theatre office at 770-704-0755. The City’s theatre page does not publish box office hours, a seat count or theatre parking, so we do not print them.

History: 1911 to today

• As early as 1911: the City says the building is used to show slides and silent movies.
• Early 1920s: it changes owners and is renamed The Bonita.
• Later: it is expanded and renamed The Haven. The City says it showed the town’s first talking picture, the 1928 film Singing Fool with Al Jolson.
• Late 1930s: the Martin-Thompson Theatre Company buys it, names it the Canton Theatre and remodels it in the Art Deco style.
• Sept. 30, 1940: grand opening of the Canton Theatre.
• By the mid-1970s: its popularity has fallen, and it sits idle for years.
• 1994: an individual buys the building, according to the City.
• 1997: the City acquires it in a land swap and deeds it to the Downtown Development Authority to finance restoration.
• May 26, 2000: the restored theatre reopens at a dedication.

• The City says the Historic Canton Theatre was used to show slides and silent movies as early as 1911. City of Canton: Historic Canton Theatre
• In the early 1920s the theatre changed owners and was renamed The Bonita. It was later expanded and renamed The Haven, and showed Canton's first talking picture, the 1928 film Singing Fool with Al Jolson. City of Canton: Historic Canton Theatre
• In the late 1930s the Martin-Thompson Theatre Company bought it, named it the Canton Theatre and remodeled it in the Art Deco style. The grand opening was September 30, 1940. City of Canton: Historic Canton Theatre
• The theatre declined by the mid-1970s and sat idle for years. The City acquired it in a land swap in 1997, it was deeded to the Downtown Development Authority to finance restoration, and it reopened on May 26, 2000. City of Canton: Historic Canton Theatre

Where the sources disagree

The City says the building was in use as early as 1911. The 1983 National Register nomination for the Canton Commercial Historic District lists the Canton Theatre as built in 1913 and remodeled about 1940. So we do not write that the theatre was built in 1911. The nomination also calls the building Art Moderne, where the City says Art Deco. The City dates the Bonita name to the early 1920s and Explore Canton says by 1920. The City says the theatre declined by the mid-1970s, and Explore Canton says it fell into disrepair in the 1980s. We follow the City, which runs the theatre, and name the others so you know why the dates differ.

• The nomination describes one-and-a-half blocks of mostly brick commercial buildings, one to three stories tall, built from the 1890s to the 1930s. It singles out the marble-clad Bank of Canton (1892) and the Art Moderne Canton Theatre. National Register nomination: Canton Commercial Historic District, NRIS 84000962

The theatre sits inside the National Register district on Main Street. The rest of the block, and the courthouse a street away, are on the Main Street page, and the town’s longer story is on the history page.

Before and after the show

The theatre is a short walk along Main Street from Cannon Park, 130 East Main Street. For dinner first, our downtown restaurants page lists the places on and around Main Street with their sources. Explore Canton says downtown parking is free, with street parking on Main Street and nearby streets and a 102-space deck at 345-303 W. Marietta St. On busy downtown nights, spaces near Main Street can run short. Our parking page has the details.

• Explore Canton says downtown has free parking. Its guide lists street parking on North St., W. Main St., E. Main St., S. Church St., E. Marietta St., Archer St. and Railroad St. Explore Canton: Parking in Downtown Canton
• The two-level Canton Downtown Parking Deck, 345-303 W. Marietta St., has 102 spaces. A solar array on the top level powers 10 public electric car charging stations. Explore Canton: Parking in Downtown Canton

Planning a show in December? The theatre’s holiday shows sit alongside the Christmas events at The Mill and downtown on the holiday season page, and every other date is on the events calendar.

Questions

Dates, rules and hours can change. The organisers have the final word: City of Canton