EVANSTON ROUNDTABLE
by Cissy Lacks
April 1, 2024
Northlight Theatre gets $3 million donation
Gift helps company meet 50th anniversary completion date in fall 2026
The start date for the construction of the Northlight Theatre in Evanston got a boost with a recent $3 million donation by the Finnegan family.
Talking about the gift, Paul Finnegan said, “It’s time to bring Northlight home.”
Finnegan is a past president/chair of the theater’s board of trustees.
The gift raises capital campaign funds to more than $20 million, bringing the total within reach of Northlight’s $24 million target to start construction. The City of Evanston has contributed $2 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
Finnegan called his family’s gift “a call to action for the community to get the shovel in the ground.”
The theater intends to start construction in early 2025 with a completion date of fall 2026.
PHOTO: Northlight Theatre Artistic Director BJ Jones (left) and Executive Director Tim Evans. Credit: Joe Mazza / brave lux