Court Square Theater History
Court Square Theater was once the home of Rockingham Motor Company (RMC), one of the premier car dealers in Downtown Harrisonburg from the 1920s through 1970s. When downtown revitalization began in 1998, Court Square Theater (originally called The Rockingham Theater) was carved out of the existing building along with three other businesses. The architecture of the old RMC was kept intact, with outside RMC crests preserved – and duplicated inside of the theater. The ticket box office came from the historic Kavanaugh hotel, lending another note of history.
In 2000 a group of local citizens who had long dreamed of bolstering the arts within the Harrisonburg and Rockingham County communities, came together on the Rockingham Theater stage to form the organization now known as Arts Council of the Valley. The new nonprofit was charged with managing the theater as its performing arts branch and creating innovative partnerships in the arts among area civic organizations, businesses, schools, and artists.
Meet the Team
Justin Reiter
Managing Director
Abigail Huneycutt
Operations Manager
Britney Mongold
Theater Office and Marketing Manager
Arts Council of the Valley Names Justin Reiter New Managing Director of Court Square Theater
October 2nd, 2024
Arts Council of the Valley (ACV) Executive Director Jenny Burden announced that Justin C. Reiter has been selected as Court Square Theater’s new managing director. He is scheduled to begin his new role on October 7.
“We are excited – after a competitive search – to welcome someone with Justin’s credentials into this position,” ACV Board President Maureen Pearson said. “In addition to his experience in the theater industry, which is substantial, he also brings an extensive background of leadership in the arts nonprofit sector.”
Since 2020, Reiter has served as executive director for the Masonic Theatre Preservation Foundation in Clifton Forge, VA, where he was instrumental in navigating the closeout of New Market and Historic Tax Credits used for a 2016 $6.9 million theatre renovation. His career also includes six years as executive director for the American Frontier Culture Foundation in Staunton, VA, and three years as President & CEO for the Heifetz International Music Institute, helping coordinate that organization’s 2011 move from Columbia, MD to Staunton, VA.
Prior to joining Heifetz, Reiter was production manager for one of the largest producers of Broadway touring musicals, touring the world with Hairspray, Cabaret, Rent, Lincoln Center’s South Pacific, Tap Dogs, Jekyll and Hyde and Cirque, among others. Reiter has worked on segments for Regis and Kathie Lee, Late Night with David Letterman, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Quincy Jones-the First 50 Years. He also served as production manager and floor director for the PBS-award winning television series The Lonesome Pine Specials for eight years. Reiter was technical director for the Kentucky Center for the Arts, the Actors Studio, and the Waldorf Astoria Ballroom, as well as general manager for the Schuster Performing Arts Center in Dayton, OH. He chaired a successful $1million campaign to fund a new home for the Dayton Theatre Guild, and has served on nonprofit boards in Kentucky, New York, Ohio, and Virginia.
Through decades of work with nonprofit and for-profit arts and cultural organizations, Reiter has acquired extensive knowledge in fiduciary responsibilities; strategic planning; regulatory policy creation; marketing; fundraising; and contract negotiation. Hailing from Louisville, KY, he attended New York University and the Leadership Development Program at the Center for Creative Leadership. Reiter is principal and owner of Reiter Group, a nonprofit consulting firm.
