The transition comes as the organization approaches its 100th anniversary in October and prepares for restoration work<\/a> and continued changes to programming.<\/p>\n The Theatre\u2019s board said Levesque was the unanimous choice after a national search, pointing to his background in nonprofit leadership<\/a>, programming and community engagement.<\/p>\n Levesque has served since 2018 as executive director of the Historic Paramount Theatre in Abilene, Texas, a 1,131-seat venue with film, live performances and community programming. The organization also supports regional arts<\/a> groups and produces its own stage productions, including musicals and plays.<\/p>\n Read the latest Tampa news and updates<\/a><\/p>\n Before moving into arts leadership, Levesque spent two decades in broadcast journalism, including roles as a news<\/a> director and anchor at an ABC affiliate in Abilene. He said that background shaped his focus on audience connection and community engagement.<\/p>\n \u201cI could not be more proud to join the Tampa Theatre family,\u201d Levesque said in a statement, adding that he had visited the theatre prior to Bell\u2019s retirement announcement. \u201cWhat an incredibly special place Tampa saved.\u201d<\/p>\n Under Levesque\u2019s leadership, the Paramount Theatre expanded its programming and audience reach. In 2023, he received the Individual Contribution Award from the League of Historic American Theatres, recognizing work in preservation and operations of historic venues.<\/p>\n Bell\u2019s tenure reshaped Tampa Theatre\u2019s business<\/a> model, expanding programming from a limited repertory film schedule into a year-round mix of films, concerts, comedians and community events.<\/p>\n The nonprofit operates the 1926 theater as a film and cultural center, supported by public funding, private donors and memberships. The venue is owned by the City of Tampa.<\/p>\n Levesque takes over as the Theatre works to maintain attendance and expand programming while preserving a historic venue in a market shaped by streaming and changing entertainment habits.<\/p>\n Read More Tampa Bay Business News<\/p>\n \n Explore the latest Tampa Bay<\/a> business news, real estate<\/a> deals, development projects, executive moves and company updates shaping the region.\n <\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t\tPost navigation<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa Theatre has selected George Levesque as its next president and chief executive officer following a national search.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-235684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"George](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Untitled-3-8-1000x563.png\")
George Levesque will become president and CEO of Tampa Theatre in June following a national search.<\/p>\n