Metuchen’s historic Forum Theater could be reimagined

METUCHEN, N.J. (PIX11) – At 96 years old, it’s nostalgic, but not up to date.

But the show must go on, and Metuchen’s Forum Theater will need to be reimagined.

“Time has not been kind to this playhouse,” said Mayor Jonathan Busch. “What we want to do is build a black box. A flexible space.”

A place that once showed movies, borough officials are looking to turn the Forum into a space that can host anything from plays to dinners to wrestling.

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Gov. Phil Murphy on Tuesday went on a private tour of the Forum Theater, touting an incentive program under the New Jersey Economic Development Authority that could help bring the theater back to life.

“This is exactly what we all had in mind when that incentive program began to take shape,” said Murphy.

While no dollar amount has been earmarked just yet, the program gives tax breaks to cover renovation costs on projects like the one at the Forum.

“There’s something about that shared experience, being with your friends, being with your family and having that sort of community bond where you’re all watching the movie at the same time, having the same emotions, the same feelings, it’s amazing,” said Linda Koskoski, who went to high school in nearby Edison and came to the Forum to watch foreign films with her friends. “We could sit up here in the balcony. At that time it was still a fully functional theater. I came here almost every weekend to see the movies.”

Now the Borough of Metuchen’s director of economic development, she hopes to see the big screen glow again.

“I hope that’s the kind of thing we’re going to be bringing back to Metuchen,” said Koskoski.

Borough officials are hoping crowds start to flock back in sometime in 2026.

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