The Savoy is located in Glace Bay, Cape Breton Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia, Canada, and operates as a performing arts venue, presenting a wide variety of local, national and international entertainment.

The original Savoy Theatre was built on Union Street in Glace Bay in 1901 by businessman John Owen Connor as a vaudeville house.

[4] Vaudeville was staged at the Savoy, along with magic shows, musicals, concerts, both sacred and secular, political meetings, and rallies.

The flames, fanned by a northeast blizzard, levelled an entire block of buildings as firemen were unable to contain the blaze.

The new Savoy Theatre, constructed to the specifications of the famed Victorian show houses,[12] opened its doors on 11 November 1927, less than eight months after the fire that destroyed its predecessor.

[2][13][4] Designed and built by (Frank) MacSween Contractors, the new theatre was complete with seating for 1,290 patrons, 826 on the auditorium orchestra floor, and 464 on the balcony, and displayed elaborate decoration including rococo chandeliers and wall sconces.

For the next few decades the Savoy operated both as a movie theatre and as a vaudeville house, and hosted many of the world's finest entertainers, including W. C. Fields, The Dumbells, The Mae Edwards Players, The Great Lester, and a young Sammy Davis Jr. (in 1937 at the age of 12).

[22] Around this time, Famous Players assumed ownership and complete control of the venue and then operated it exclusively as a movie theatre.

[23] The restored Savoy, now seating 875,[12] was officially opened by Mayor Dan A Munroe and the Glace Bay Town Council on 17 May 1976,[4] with Lieutenant-Governor Clarence Gosse, Premier Gerald Regan, and leader of the Opposition John Buchanan of Nova Scotia in attendance.

The Glace Bay and Sydney Rotary clubs combined to mount a ten-day performance the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical The King and I, directed by Don Gillies,[29] which at the time broke all box office records in the province.

A further 2.3 million capital expansion project in 1997 saw the addition of a 50' x 65' two story glassed annex with a portable stage for small events, seating up to 150.

The new addition moved the theater entrance to the corner of Union and Commercial Streets and included a new box office, a commercial kitchen, a gift shop, bar facilities, expanded washrooms including an accessible washroom, an elevator, along with a gallery space on the second floor, and expanded administration office space.

[34] The Savoy stayed open through the 18 months of renovations and on completion a ribbon cutting and concert were held on 13 June 1998 to celebrate the new space.

“There aren’t many other theatres this old - the Imperial in St. John may be 100 - the Savoy is definitely one of the oldest live theatre venues in Canada and we’re still going strong.”[39]The Savoy stage has been graced by a virtual Who's Who of Cape Breton and Canadian talent, including Rita MacNeil, The Rankin Family, The Barra MacNeils, Ashley MacIssac, The White Stripes,[40] The Barenaked Ladies, k.d.

lang, Mr. Dressup, Sarah McLaughlin, The Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Blue Rodeo,a Liona Boyd, Harry Chapin, Melissa Etheridge, Leonard Cohen,[41] and hundreds of others.

[37] Recent in-house productions have included the musicals: The Savoy Theatre is a fully restored Victorian proscenium arch-type facility.