SCRANTON — The next time you attend a show at the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple, look up.
The proscenium of the main theater, shrouded in black for many years, has been replaced and repainted with intricate details to echo the original design.
The Scranton Cultural Center formally unveiled Wednesday the $10 million state-funded renovation, along with a new organizational structure. Broadway Theatre League of Northeastern Pennsylvania and the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple have merged.
Details on the proscenium arch framing the stage in the main theater at the Scranton Cultural Center in Scranton on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Broadway Theatre League is behind the six-decade-old annual series of touring Broadway shows. “SIX: the Musical,” the first production of this year’s season, is this weekend. It is a national tour, with an Equity union cast, of a Tony Award-winning musical that is still playing on Broadway.
“Through this partnership, we ensure that generations of Pennsylvanians, especially those who may never otherwise experience the magic of Broadway, continue to have access to the arts and other future programs planned with our new venture,” Cultural Center board co-chairs Brian Cali and John Murray said in a news release.
The center hopes to also add more diverse shows to its existing offerings, according to Frank T. Blasi, who will now serve as co-director with Deborah Moran Peterson.
“Employees of both organizations have been retained,” the news release said.
Paint was peeling on the ceiling of the theater in the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in Scranton on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Details on the ceiling, which was one of the main projects in the renovations of the theater at the Scranton Cultural Center in Scranton on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. (REBECCA PARTICKA/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A photo taken during restoration work at the Scranton Cultural Center (Scranton Cultural Center)
Workers built scaffolding on the stage in the theater of the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in Scranton on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple is viewed through an archway of the Scranton School District Administration Building on N. Washington St. in downtown Scranton. (TIMES-TRIBUNE FILE)
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Paint was peeling on the ceiling of the theater in the Scranton Cultural Center at the Masonic Temple in Scranton on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The 180,000-square-foot building at 420 N. Washington Ave. opened as a Masonic temple in 1930. Its two theaters make it the largest performance space in Scranton. It hosts weddings and other events, with the largest of the ballrooms seating several hundred people. The building is on the National Register of Historic Places.
For years, some of the elaborate details were marred by water damage, missing panels and highly visible patches of peeling paint and plaster.
Exterior work continues. The project also included a complete roof and gutter overhaul, repairs to mortar and masonry, restoration of stained-glass windows and refreshing other areas.
The scope of the renovation was trimmed for financial reasons, officials said in the summer.
The general contractor is D & M Construction Unlimited of Dalton and the architectural consultant is Highland Associates of Clarks Summit.
Other upcoming events include a holiday market, a Northeastern Pennsylvania Philharmonic holiday show and a Beatles versus the Rolling Stones tribute act concert.
The Cultural Center’s website is scrantonculturalcenter.org.