Guess Who’s Coming To Theater

posted by Ross Melnick on August 13, 2002 at 4:22 pm

WINNIPEG, MB, CANADA — Burton Cummings, the lead singer of the rock group Guess Who, has become the benefactor of the struggling Walker Theatre, according to Chartattack.com. Cummings will begin donating a portion of the proceeds of his concerts at the Walker in order to pay down the theater’s $1.8 million debt and fund future renovations.

In exchange for his aid, the theater will be renamed the Burton Cummings Theatre for the Performing Arts after the singer who attended the former movie house as a child. The board hopes Cummings' name will help bring in additional grants and donations.

The 2000-seat Walker opened in 1907 and was named for its owner, Corliss Powers Walker, who brought in live theater, vaudeville, concerts, and silent films. The theater switched to a movies-only format in 1945 and remained in operation until 1990. In 1991, it reopened as a performing arts center and is an official Manitoba Provincial Heritage Site.