One local family foundation is taking over from another as a Sewickley movie theater moves into the next era of its regional identity.
In July, the Tull Family Foundation decided not to renew its sponsorship of the Tull Family Theater, a Sewickley nonprofit movie theater that had been adorned with the Tull name since it opened in February 2017. That left the theater scrambling for a new sponsorship deal and name before the end of 2022.
On Wednesday, the theater announced that The Corry Family Foundation will be sponsoring it for the next 10 years and will be renaming it The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center — or simply “The Lindsay” — effective Jan. 1.
Like the foundation, the theater will be taking its name from Lindsay Nicole Corry, who was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a baby and spent her life trying to help others dealing with similar illnesses and challenges before dying of cancer at age 30 in August 2021.
“We have invaluable memories of our family enjoying the theater together,” Alexis Corry Kappel, Corry’s sister, said in a statement to the Union Progress. “We have witnessed the theater’s breadth of service and programming and believe this is a fitting way to honor Lindsay’s exuberance, creativity and compassion.”
Corry was a Carnegie Mellon University graduate working in private equity before she was diagnosed with cancer in January 2020. She also dabbled as an artist and photographer as she built a thriving business career in New York City.
Kappel is the owner of the Sewickley boutique Lex & Lynne, which she launched in 2011 and continues to donate 15% of all proceeds it takes in to helping children with Type 1 diabetes in her sister’s honor, according to her business’s website.
Kappel said in the same statement that the Corrys “have always been a very close family” and were fortunately able to spend most of the 18 months between Lindsay’s diagnosis and death at her side.
Tull CEO Carolina Pais-Barreto Thor thanked The Corry Family Foundation in a statement for supporting her organization in the most tangible possible way.
“We are deeply grateful for this meaningful gesture celebrating the life of a remarkable young woman with a passion for self-expression through art,” she said. “We are recognizing this generous gift by naming the theater in her honor.”
The Lindsay Theater and Cultural Center will be the Tull’s official moniker when it turns 6 in a few months. Thor emphasized that nothing else about the theater’s operations will change along with the name and that partnering with a family such as the Corrys “reflects our growing service to the region, beyond cinema.
“While we look to the past with gratitude,” Thor said, “the new name ushers in a new era for the organization.”
Joshua covers pop culture, media and more at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Contact him at jaxelrod@unionprogress.com.