The Warner Theatre, Torrington: A Complete Guide

Updated June 2026 · 5 min read

The Warner Theatre is the cultural anchor of northwest Connecticut — a beautifully restored 1931 movie palace on Main Street in Torrington that now runs a year-round calendar of concerts, comedy, touring Broadway, dance, and homegrown theater. For the Litchfield Hills, it's the room: the place you go for a big night out without driving down to Hartford or New Haven.

A genuine Art Deco landmark

The Warner opened on August 19, 1931 as a Warner Bros. first-run movie palace, designed by the celebrated theater architect Thomas W. Lamb in a lavish Art Deco / Modernistic style. It's on the National Register of Historic Places and is often called the finest surviving Modernistic theater in the state. By the early 1980s it had closed and was slated for demolition — until local citizens formed a nonprofit, bought it, and reopened it in 1983. A major restoration in the early 2000s brought back the stenciled ceiling, the star-shaped chandelier, the deep-orange velvet wall coverings, and the original Deco detailing, while quietly modernizing the lighting, sound, and accessibility.

Two stages

• The Oneglia Auditorium is the grand main stage, seating 1,772 across the orchestra and balcony — and because of the room's design, no seat is more than about 90 feet from the stage, so even the back feels close.
• The Nancy Marine Studio Theatre is the intimate second space, around 300 seats, used for smaller concerts, plays, and community productions.

The Warner is run by a nonprofit, the Northwest Connecticut Association for the Arts, and is now affiliated with Hartford's Bushnell — a partnership that's been bringing more touring programming up into the hills.

What kind of shows play there

The range is wide by design. On the main stage you'll find touring musicians across rock, folk, jazz and tribute acts, national stand-up comedians, Broadway-style touring productions, ballet and dance, and the occasional classic film screening. Alongside the touring calendar, the Warner is also a true community arts center — its volunteer-driven Warner Stage Company mounts full theatrical productions, and the theater runs arts-education programming throughout the year. It's that mix of national tours and local roots that gives the place its character.

Getting there & parking

The Warner sits at 68 Main Street in downtown Torrington. Parking is mostly metered on-street plus nearby municipal lots — and the meters are free after 6 PM and on Sundays, which covers most show times. It's a walkable downtown, so it's easy to pair a show with dinner beforehand.

Around the region

The Warner is the headliner among concert venues in Torrington, and it's one of the state's great historic theaters — a category Connecticut is unusually rich in. If you're building a trip around it, it pairs naturally with the wider northwest-hills arts scene.

The Warner's full upcoming calendar lives in the CT Concert Center app, right alongside every other venue across the state — so you'll catch the shows up in the hills as easily as the ones in the cities.