The marquee at 112 West Main Street is hunter green with yellow bulb lighting. That's close to the colors The Russell Theatre had when it opened in August 1938 and billed itself as "Southwest Virginia's Finest Show Room." The marquee is bigger now, with three-dimensional lettering that runs nearly to the roofline, and the show boxes beside it are digital.
Since the town reopened the building in September 2023, its calendar has followed a pattern. Almost every big downtown Lebanon event now has an outdoor half on Main Street or at Pavilion Park and an indoor half inside The Russell. The old theatre never had that arrangement, and that explains a lot about the theatre's next six weeks.
Four closings, one common problem
The theatre's own history page is unusually frank about how often the building failed.
| Years | What the building was | How it ended |
|---|---|---|
| 1938 to mid-1960s | Single-screen movie house, ten-cent admission | Equipment and upkeep fell behind, and so did attendance |
| March 24, 1978 to about 1983 | Remodeled by David Leonard, 300 seats | Closed again |
| About 1986 to 1987 | The "Teen Rocker," a teen club with music, dancing and guest DJs | Short-lived |
| August 1991 to 1996 | Reopened by Jerry Hale, 250 seats, $3.50 adult tickets | Most revenue went to the film distributor, and live local-band shows didn't save it |
Then the building sat empty for nearly 30 years. Each version on that list was a private business that had to fill seats on its own. The 1990s operator tried live music and found that "most of the revenues" from movies went to the motion picture company.
The Town of Lebanon bought the property on November 18, 2019, as part of a downtown revitalization effort that also included facade upgrades and new streetscapes. Construction started at the end of December 2020 and ran into 2023. The rebuilt room seats fewer people than any earlier version: occupancy is 181, with 140 seats on the main level and 41 in an extended balcony. The stage is three times the original size, with electrical and sound hookups built into the floor for live shows, and a motorized screen drops from the ceiling for movies. When WJHL covered the Sept. 23, 2023 reopening, Shane Farmer, then the town's Parks and Recreation director, said the property and the lot next to it were bought before the pandemic with revitalization as the goal.
A smaller room with a bigger stage, owned by the town, doesn't depend on a film distributor's cut. That's why so much of what happens there this season is free or close to it.
How the pairing worked this October
The pattern is easy to see in the theatre's event listings for October.
- October 10: Fall Into Autumn filled Pavilion Park with live music, food trucks, local vendors, pumpkin painting, cornhole and Giant Jenga. It was free. Inside, the theatre hosted the ticketed 3rd Annual Tales From The Front Porch.
- October 31: The 6th Annual Haunting on Main was set for Main Street, with the theatre following it with two free movies, Hocus Pocus at 7:30 p.m. and A Nightmare on Elm Street at 10:00 p.m.
According to Lebanon News' report on the October town council meeting, this year's Haunting on Main was planned with its first-ever theme, "Rock of Horrors – A Totally 80s Halloween," and scheduled for 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. Sharon Vandyke of the Russell County Chamber of Commerce told council that costume contest winners would get gift cards to local businesses instead of trophies. "We will give gift cards instead of trophies to put money back into the community," she said in that report.
The street event draws the crowd, and the theatre gives that crowd somewhere to go when it gets cold or late. November and December follow the same pattern.
A teen night in the same building, nearly 40 years later
The Teen Rocker lasted from about 1986 to 1987. In October 2026, the theatre launched THE FIRE, which it describes as "a new monthly night created JUST FOR TEENS AGES 13–19," with music, games, prizes, food and Signature Sips.
The second one is themed to the same decade as the old club:
THE FIRE: 80s Neon Lip Sync Night Saturday, November 14, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. $5 admission, ages 13 to 19 Blacklights and neon, a lip sync competition, games and prizes, Signature Sips and concessions
The 1980s version was a private venture. This one runs out of a town-owned building, on a monthly schedule, a short walk from Main Street. For parents in Lebanon, Honaker or Castlewood, a $5 Saturday night inside a staffed downtown venue is a simple plan.
The Clinch Concert Series closes out its second year
The biggest ticketed show of the month is the last stop of the 2nd Annual Clinch Concert Series, which the theatre describes as a way of "bringing the Appalachian culture and heritage back to life" through bluegrass heritage music. The 2026 series has six dates: March 7, March 28, June 12, August 1, September 6 and November 21.
The September show set a high bar. As Lebanon News reported, Sister Sadie played The Russell on September 6 at 3 p.m., with $25 tickets. In the paper, theatre director Shane Farmer noted the band's Grammy nomination and its multiple International Bluegrass Music Association awards. Lebanon News also described the series as bringing "some of the biggest names in bluegrass music" to Lebanon.
The finale has a local feel:
- Who: Adam Bolt & The Lockwashers
- When: Saturday, November 21, 2026, 7:00 to 9:20 p.m.
- Special guest: The theatre's event page lists Justin Clyde Williams. The town's ticketing page lists Roger Ramsey, so check both before you go.
If Adam Bolt sounds familiar, he played the theatre recently. He was on the bill for The Sunday Songwriters on October 25, a $20 afternoon of original songs that also featured Seth McKay and Chloe & Jake Angeles.
With 181 seats, the room fills quickly for a series that has brought in Grammy-nominated acts. The ticket link above goes through the Town of Lebanon's own TicketSpice page.
December: back to pairs
After the series ends, the calendar returns to the indoor-outdoor pattern for the holidays.
Holiday's Downtown, Saturday, December 5
The theatre's listing calls this the kickoff to the Christmas season. Pavilion Park hosts local vendors, live Christmas music, family activities and hot chocolate in the afternoon, and then people move inside The Russell for a free Christmas movie. The listing says more activities "will be announced as they are confirmed," and updates are posted on the Town of Lebanon's Facebook page.
The Christmas parade and Santa photos
The Lebanon News council report gives the parade theme as "250 Years of Christmas Blessings," in honor of the nation's 250th anniversary. Council voted to name member Elijah Leonard and his family grand marshal.
The theatre lists pictures with Santa on "December 7th, 2026," during the parade along Main Street. It will be open so people can warm up and have their photos made. December 7 falls on a Monday this year. That isn't unusual for Lebanon: the town's listing for the 2022 parade, "Christmas Past and Present," also had it on a Monday, December 5, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. The town hasn't posted a 2026 start time yet, so check its Facebook page before you plan your evening around it.
The season at a glance
- Saturday, November 14: THE FIRE 80s Neon Lip Sync Night, 7:30 p.m., $5, ages 13 to 19
- Saturday, November 21: Clinch Concert Series finale with Adam Bolt & The Lockwashers, 7:00 p.m.
- Saturday, December 5: Holiday's Downtown at Pavilion Park, with a free movie at The Russell
- Monday, December 7, per the theatre's listing: Christmas parade on Main Street, with Santa photos inside the theatre
Each of the theatre's earlier versions had to make it on ticket sales alone, and none of them did. The current one is built into Lebanon's downtown calendar, and between now and parade night that means a teen night, a bluegrass finale, a free holiday movie and a warm lobby with Santa on Main Street.
The Russell came back because Lebanon invested in its downtown, with new facades, new streetscapes and a restored theatre at the center. If you own a home in Lebanon or anywhere in Russell County and want to know how those changes show up in what your property is worth, Denise Blevins can give you a straight answer based on local sales. Start with an Instant Home Valuation and we can talk through the numbers from there.
