Surviving both the eras of silent film and vaudeville, this first-ever history of Pitman, NJ’s beloved Broadway Theatre chronicles the 100-year-old venue’s most unforgettable performances and the community that refused to lose its crown jewel 1926 silent movie palace.
Coming Soon
Non-Fiction
To be announced
May 1, 2026
In this first-ever history of Pitman, NJ’s beloved Broadway Theatre, readers are transported to a front row seat for the silent movie house and vaudeville stage’s 1926 debut. Under the direction of manager Ralph Wilkins, the Broadway becomes a community center for proms, cooking demonstrations and screenings of Hollywood epics. With the 1970s arrival of mall cinemas, new owner Clayton Platt reinvents the Broadway as a live country music venue, bringing Nashville’s biggest stars to South Jersey. By 2006, now facing bankruptcy and closure, the entire town comes together to save its crown jewel, lovingly preserving it for the next generation of theatre-goers.
Set for a Spring 2026 release, “Pitman’s Broadway Theatre: A Centennial Celebration” takes readers on an unforgettable tour of the century, chronicling the first-ever history of Pitman, New Jersey’s beloved show place. First opened in May 1926 as a silent movie house and vaudeville stage, the Broadway Theatre debuted as an opulent 1,090-seat two-level theatre, created in a gorgeous French Revival motif by Philadelphia architects Magaziner, Eberhard & Harris. The Broadway has survived the death of silent film, vaudeville, the invasion of mall cinema chains, multiple bankruptcies and a global pandemic. In 2006, Pitman native and businessman Peter Slack bought the ailing Broadway at a sheriff’s sale and then poured $1 million into its restoration performed by volunteer Pitmanites, who rallied to save their performing arts crown jewel. In 2024, the Broadway is thriving, attracting over 100,000 visitors a year to its popular line-up of live concerts and Broadway musicals. Deeply researched and featuring interviews with Broadway patrons past and present, “Pitman’s Broadway Theatre: A Centennial Celebration” is a love letter to anyone who has ever chucked a Jujube from the Broadway balcony during a Saturday matinee. Author Richard L. Eldredge, an Atlanta-based arts reporter and native Pitmanite, saw his very first film, “Disney’s The Jungle Book,” at the Broadway and has been in love with the movies — and his hometown theatre — ever since.
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