The Stoneham Theatre was built in 1917 for vaudeville, then movies—silents, then talkies. By the 1990s it was empty, and in 1999 purchased by the Symes Family Foundation, who after a $2 million restoration gave it rent-free to a newly-created performing arts organization, as the only professional theatre serving 16 MetroNorth communities: Stoneham, Andover, Billerica, Burlington, Lynnfield, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Saugus, Tewksbury, Wakefield, Wilmington, Winchester, and Woburn. They have flourished, offering a September- June “Mainstage” season of up to eight theatrical or musical productions; a summer concert series; a yearround educational program for students grades 2-12, and since 2005 a small art gallery. Their audience has grown from 9,000 to 35,000—8th place on the Boston Business Journal’s List of Largest Performing Arts Organizations. Their Youth Program has increased from 14 students in 2001, to over 150 now. As to quality, they received four IRNE (Independent Reviewers of New England) Award nominations in 2006, and three in 2005 (Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress). It makes a nice story that for the past two years the Artistic Director has been Weylin Symes, of the same family whose foundation eight years ago restored and gave the Theatre to the community— there are no corporate connections between the Boards of the Foundation and the Theatre.