Is An Iconic Newtown Treasure Really Changing Its Name?

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — No, the historic Newtown Theatre is not changing its name.

In a cleverly played April Fool’s joke, Andy Smith, the theatre’s executive director, announced on Facebook that the theatre would be entertaining a name change after losing a coin toss with a theater in New Jersey.

In his posting Smith wrote that for years, the public has mixed up the Newtown Theatre with the Newton Theatre in Newton, New Jersey.

“We have had their patrons buy tickets for our events and show up at our doors and vice versa. To clear things up, the two theatres agreed to flip a coin and whoever lost would change their name. Unfortunately, we lost,” he posted to the theatre’s Facebook page.

“In the coming weeks, we will be working to come up with a new name for the theatre. If you have suggestions, please forward them to us. Thank you for your support – we hope to see you soon at the Newtown … err, we mean the ‘Whatever We’ll Be Called’ theatre!”

The theatre's Executive Director Andy Smith included this photo with his April Fool's posting. (Newtown Theatre)

The posting drew more than 140 comments and hundreds of reactions from people who offered naming suggestions or were questioning why Newtown had to change the name of its beloved theatre over a coin toss.

Fortunately it ended up being an April Fool’s joke, which some figured out but not before Smith confessed after more than a dozen names had been suggested.

Some of the ideas included The Oldest Original Newtown Theatre, The Bucks County Newtown Theatre, Newtown Theater for the Arts, State Street Theatre, Main Street Theatre, the Old Town Hall Theatre, Original Towne Theatre in Newtown, the Community Theater on State Street, Newtown State Street Community Theater and The Oldtown Newtown Theatre.

"What makes it funny is that the NewTON Theatre really does exist in Newton, N.J., and we DO get mixed up a lot," writes Smith. "As I said in the comments, the best jokes are those with a nugget of truth."