In October, the bowling lanes at the former Pinstripes on the top floor of The SoNo Collection were still in place. Crews from the Norwalk Conservatory of the Arts built a speakeasy-style bar around them and put a theater next door, with new staging, lighting and sets. The seats wrapped around the stage on several sides with no balcony, so the audience sat close to the actors. That production was "The Wild Party," which ran Oct. 8 to 18, and Norwalk Current reported that the crew worked around the lanes rather than removing them.
The conservatory is a Norwalk school. Most years, though, Norwalk audiences have had to drive to Bridgeport to see its full productions. This fall it is performing in town because the mall has vacant space. That arrangement runs through December. Two runs remain, and the first of them opens its final weekend Thursday, Nov. 19.
A Norwalk college that usually performs in Bridgeport
The conservatory describes itself on its events page as Connecticut's only baccalaureate-accredited nonprofit performing arts conservatory. It still doesn't own a room big enough for a full show. Its black box theater at 24 Belden Ave. mostly hosts student work, and its other spaces are small. For years the school has rented the Klein and the Downtown Cabaret in Bridgeport for its main productions. Its president, Danny Loftus George, told Norwalk Current that affordable theater space in Norwalk is hard to find.
"It's been really hard to grow an audience base and build a theatrical presence," George said in that Norwalk Current story.
This year the Downtown Cabaret was supposed to host the fall show. Then it stopped being available. The CT Post reported in September that the Cabaret held its final performance at the end of June after 50 years. Vox Church is the building's new tenant and plans to hold Sunday services and midweek gatherings there while pursuing performing-arts programming. The property's owner, Kiumarz Geula, bought it in late 2024.
That left the conservatory a few weeks from opening night with no stage. Designers and sound crews were already hired and the show rights were already paid for. "We had to kind of pick up the pieces and figure out what to do," George told Norwalk Current. The school asked local businesses for help. He said The SoNo Collection was the only one that found a way to make it work.
Why the mall had rooms to offer
The mall could take the conservatory in because it had large spaces sitting empty. Norwalk Current reported in April that The SoNo Collection, nearly seven years after opening, was up for sale. The listing reported 86% occupancy across roughly 738,800 square feet of leasable area. Pinstripes, the bowling alley and restaurant on the top floor, closed in 2025 and its space was still vacant. Yard House also closed in 2025, leaving an empty space along West Avenue.
Those vacancies became the conservatory's stage. The mall is renting space to the school until December for far less than a normal tenant would pay, according to George. After "The Wild Party" in the old Pinstripes room, the school moved to the second floor of the former EQ3 furniture store, also vacant. That's where the rest of the fall season plays. George said he hopes the shows bring people to the mall's shops and restaurants.
So a Norwalk college is performing in Norwalk because a Norwalk mall has rooms nobody else has leased yet, at a reduced rent that runs only through December.
What's left on the calendar
Two productions remain at The SoNo Collection.
"A Streetcar Named Desire," final weekend
- Thursday, Nov. 19, 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, Nov. 20, 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, Nov. 21, 3 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22, 3 p.m.
The ticketing page blocks each performance as two and a half hours, so evening shows are listed as 7:30 to 10 p.m. and matinees as 3 to 5:30 p.m. Tickets start at $40. The conservatory sells two upgrades. VIP tickets include preferred seating and one signature Streetcar cocktail. Producer's tickets include premium seating and open bar access. Thursday, Nov. 19 is also the conservatory's Out Night, with a pre-show reception celebrating its LGBTQ+ patrons. Tickets are sold through the conservatory's TicketLeap page.
The conservatory bills this staging as a version of Tennessee Williams' play "re-animated for the 21st century." Blanche DuBois arrives in New Orleans and collides with her brother-in-law Stanley Kowalski.
Homer's "The Odyssey," Dec. 3 to 6
This one is a devised ensemble piece built from dance, spoken text, live music and visual design. The conservatory says it uses talent from all of its disciplines. The events page lists the run as Dec. 3 to 6 with tickets marked "coming soon," so watch the conservatory's events page for showtimes and prices. George told Norwalk Current that the school is working with Norwalk Public Schools and other districts to bring students to this production.
The mall closes before the curtain comes down
One detail changes how you plan a night there. On most show nights, the mall's posted center hours end around the time the evening curtain goes up.
During the Streetcar weekend, The SoNo Collection lists these hours:
- Thursday, Nov. 19: 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday, Nov. 20 and 21: 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
- Sunday, Nov. 22: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
An evening performance blocked from 7:30 to 10 p.m. therefore starts half an hour before the stores close and runs two hours past it. The Sunday matinee ends well before the 7 p.m. close. Hours stretch a little for The Odyssey. The mall lists Thursday, Dec. 3 as 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Friday and Saturday, Dec. 4 and 5 as 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, Dec. 6 as 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
In practice, any shopping or browsing before an evening show happens before 7:30, and dinner works best as a pre-show meal. Here's how an evening might go:
- Park. The garage is at 100 N. Water St. and is open daily. Valet is available Friday through Sunday on the P2/Blue level. The mall's parking services page has current details.
- Eat first. The mall's dining directory lists Sally's Apizza, Bazille, Chiwa Bistro and Uncle Seven, along with quicker stops like Pokelicious, Black Pearl Bubble Tea, Momo Matcha, Gelato & Cioccolato and the Nordstrom Ebar. Jacob's Pickles is also listed, but its entrance is off West Avenue and it can't be reached from inside the mall. The mall keeps restaurant hours separate from its center hours, so check each restaurant's own schedule before you book.
- Head upstairs. Streetcar and The Odyssey are on the second floor of the former EQ3 store.
Saturday, Nov. 21 has both a matinee and an evening show, which gives the most options. A 3 p.m. performance lets out at 5:30 while the stores are still open.
After December
The mall arrangement is a stopgap. George told Norwalk Current that the school expects to return to Bridgeport after December for "Cinderella." He said it also wants to stage "Once on This Island" in Norwalk but has no place to do it yet. "We can't keep going on like this," he said.
The school has looked at Stamford and is considering a merger with the University of Bridgeport, George said in the same Norwalk Current report. If that happens, the conservatory would be folded into the university and its Norwalk programs would end. No timeline has been set. "All I want to do is grow in Norwalk," he said.
The conservatory's annual gala, The Purple Party, now appears on its events page as "coming spring 2027," with The SoNo Collection named as the location. As for the fall season itself, "A Streetcar Named Desire" closes with the 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Nov. 22, and the last performance in town is set for Sunday, Dec. 6, when The Odyssey ends its run on the second floor of the former EQ3 store.
Ticket tiers, valet, Out Night and dinner timing all come down to planning around a schedule. Part of how I work with clients at Linda Dunsmore is explaining how Norwalk, Westport and Wilton actually run day to day, from where the city's arts groups can find a stage to how a mall's empty rooms end up holding a theater season. If you'd like to talk through what everyday life looks like in a part of Fairfield County you're considering, schedule a personalized consultation.
