It hasn't worked out quite that way. Not yet, anyway.
The theater, to be sure, is off to a running start, with three successful shows under its belt. But many merchants seem to be waiting on the sidelines.
Consider the contrast on a recent Saturday night: As a crowd mingled outside the 638-seat theater before a performance of Evita, most of the storefronts on State Street were already dark.
"It's up to the restaurants to get more aggressive and let people know they're there," said Robert McMahon, Media's mayor. "We have seen some positive effects from the theater, but not nearly what it should be."
When the theater opened in February, offering matinee and evening performances, McMahon envisioned theatergoers shopping in Media, and stopping at one of the town's restaurants for dinner or lunch before walking down State Street to see the show.
With the bus trips, he foresaw people stopping at Longwood Gardens, then heading to Media for lunch and shopping before the show - or maybe visiting Philadelphia, then stopping in Media for dinner and a show.
Instead, observers say, busloads of theater patrons eat right in the theater's Crystal Room or down the street at Strine's Zachary's restaurant in the Media Inn, see the show and return home.
Robert Momyer, the theater's marketing director, said most matinee bus trips don't allow much time for shopping in town.
Bob Buckman of New Hope, who came by bus with a senior citizens group to see Evita, acknowledged that the group just had time for lunch at the Crystal Room and the show, then would head home. "That doesn't mean we won't come back," he said.
And that is what Bohdan Senkow of the Media Business Authority sees as the key.
The theater, he contends, has "brought life to the street . . . brought life to the center of town. People have to drive on Main Street. They become aware of the community."
