Late night TV host, stand-up comedian, bestselling author, and Andover native Jay Leno will be appearing at The Cabot for the theater’s third annual Big Night, its major fundraiser of the year, this weekend on May 11. A handful of tickets for the event remain, at prices between $115 and $287; doors open to the public at 7:30 p.m. The event will raise funds for the final phase of the theater’s capital improvement plan.
Best known for his more than 20 years as host of The Tonight Show on NBC, Leno is also beloved for his stand-up comedy and his love of cars, which he has more recently translated into a CNBS series Jay Leno’s Garage and a well-rated line of car care products.
The first Big Night fundraiser, featuring Tedeschi Trucks Fireside Live and legendary R&B and gospel singer Mavis Staples raised $800,000. Last year’s event, with headliners Ray Lamontagne and Lucinda Williams, brought in another $850,000.
The Cabot was opened in 1920 as a “dream palace,” a luxurious venue for vaudeville performances and move screenings. It remained a movie theater until 1976, when Le Grand David and His Own Spectacular Magic Company bought the building as a venue to stage its fantastical magic shows. After Le Grand David wound down in 2013, a nonprofit was formed to acquire and restore the theater.
For the past 10 years, the new leadership has been restoring the theater to reflect its former beauty, while updating it to meet modern standards of comfort and accessibility.
Big Night will also honor architecture and interior design firm SV Design and its principal and founder Thaddeus S. Siemasko, a Beverly resident and one of the original group that saved The Cabot in 2014, for their contributions to the structural and aesthetic restoration of the historic building.
Learn more and buy tickets at thecabot.org/event/big-night-2024.