LUMBERTON — The Summer Classic Film Series will be the first event at the Carolina Civic Center open to the public since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

“We have missed our audiences and theater family tremendously and are so happy, and relieved, to be opening back up to the public. This theater thrives on energy and it’s time for a return to that in the community,” said Richard Sceiford, Carolina Civic Center Foundation, Inc. executive director.

The “COVID period” was spent conducting major renovations to the building to make it secure from the weather, plus Hurricane Florence repairs, so it should be good for a long time, Sceiford said. The theater’s team also recorded and aired six “fantastic” virtual concerts by regional artists, a smaller version of the annual Christmas show, and finally the My Time to Shine Talent Competition.

“So we’ve been busy, and now it’s time to get even busier, getting ready for summer theater camp, Christmas show auditions in August and the mainstage season opening show Sept. 17, with the return of one of our most popular touring Motown tribute groups that always sells out,” Sceiford said. “Folks can look for that announcement at the end of July and season tickets will go on sale Aug. 2, with individual tickets on sale Aug. 16.”

The four films in the summer series represent some of the most popular movies of all time and are appropriate for audiences of all ages. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the door. Doors open 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. screenings. Concessions will be available for purchase.

There will be no social distancing restrictions in place during the film series, and attendees who have not received full COVID-19 vaccination are strongly encouraged to wear face masks.

The first film of the Summer Classic Film season will be shown June 8. The film is the 1941 classic “Citizen Kane,” directed by Orson Welles. The 119-minute film stars Welles, Dorothy Comingore, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane and George Coulouris.

Synopsis: Alone at his fantastic estate known as Xanadu, 70-year-old Charles Foster Kane dies, uttering only the single word “Rosebud.” So ends the odyssey of a life … and begins a fabulous tale of the rise to wealth and power — and ultimate fall — of a complex man; a boy abandoned by his parents inherits a fortune, builds a global newspaper empire and aspires to become president of the United States, but he loses everything over an affair with an untalented nightclub singer. This fascinating story unfolds through the eyes of the people important to the tycoon — each showing a different aspect of Citizen Kane. The story is generally considered to be based on the life of William Randolph Hearst, who fought to prevent the release of the film by RKO, as told in the Golden Globe Award-winning made-for-cable film RKO 281.

The Michael Curtiz-directed film, “Casablanca” will be the next film in the series and will screen July 22. The film, which lasts 102 minutes, stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid and Conrad Veidt.

Synopsis: “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, she walks into mine.” Academy Award winners Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman light up the screen in one of the most enduring romances in movie history. Rick Blaine (Bogart — “The African Queen,” “The Caine Mutiny”) owns a nightclub in Vichy-controlled Casablanca, frequented by refugees desperate to escape German domination. Despite the ever-present human misery, Rick manages to remain uninvolved in World War II, which is now raging across Europe and Northern Africa. But all that changes when Ilsa Lund (Bergman — “Gaslight,” “Notorious”) walks through the front door of Rick’s club — Rick must now choose between a life with the woman he loves and becoming the hero that both she and the world need.

On Aug. 12 the theater will screen the 1954 film “Dial M for Murder,” directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film’s stars are Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams and Anthony Dawson. The film is 105 minutes long.

Synopsis: When playboy tennis pro Tony Wendice (Milland — “The Lost Weekend”) discovers his rich wife, Margot (Kelly — “Rear Window,” “To Catch a Thief”), is having an affair with handsome American Mark Hallidy ( Cummings — “The Carpetbaggers”), he devises an ingenious plot to murder her. But when his scheme takes an unexpected, deadly twist, Tony improvises — implicating Margot for first-degree murder in this classic spellbinder.

“Rear Window,” another 1954 Hitchcock classic, will end the summer series on Aug. 26 The film stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly Thelma Ritter, Wendell Corey and Raymond Burr.

Synopsis: A laid-up magazine photographer witnesses a possible murder from his apartment window.

The Carolina Civic Center Historic Theater is located at 315 North Chestnut St. in downtown Lumberton.