Here’s the text of the NY Times article of 6/27/07, link posted above.
NORTHPORT
ON Thursday in this harborside village, nine professional actors are scheduled to perform “Smokey Joe’s Cafe†before a full house in the renovated theater here at 250 Main Street.
The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport is the latest and most ambitious reincarnation of the space (the original opened around 1912) and an attractive new draw to this village’s bustling Main Street.
Downtown Northport, with walkable blocks of restaurants, gift and antique shops and waterfront parks, is often held up as an example of “smart growth,†but built long before that term came into vogue. Charming Victorians and colonials with wraparound porches line many of the streets and the cliffs overlooking the water, and the tracks of the Northport trolley, which once took early 20th-century theatergoers home after the show, are still visible on Main Street.
Kevin O’Neill, a former Treasury-bond trader, is behind the theater’s $2.5 million renovation, which was completed in seven months.
Mr. O’Neill is betting that suburban couples with children and busy weekends will pay $55 a ticket to see Manhattan-based professionals perform in musicals, and $45 to see them in plays, in their own backyard.
The theater is decked out with more suburban comforts than the usual city space, including a piano lounge and bar called the Green Room, which will open about two hours before a performance. The stadium-style seating (no obstructed views) features 402 seats, all with cup holders for that drink carried in from the lounge.
Thursday’s performance is sold out, and the theater has already sold 2,500 season tickets ($355 for seven shows), Mr. O’Neill said.
Mr. O’Neill, 44, expects most single and season ticket buyers to be much like himself and his wife, Patti, who live in nearby Lloyd Harbor with their four children.
“A night in Manhattan when you figure all the costs,†for tickets, parking, dinner and a baby sitter, can run $600, he said. Perhaps more important, it’s a lot of time†out of the weekend, a period when children are busy with activities. “Our goal is to expose people to theater of the caliber of Broadway that’s right here on Long Island,†he said.
There are plenty of amateur theaters on Long Island, but the John W. Engeman is one of only three that conform to the rules of the Actors Equity Association, the union for actors and stage managers. The other two, the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport and the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, are near the Hamptons.
The Northport theater is in western Suffolk County, near the Nassau border, and will be the only year-round professional theater on the Island. But it will of course be competing with Broadway, a little more than an hour away (without traffic).
The building, originally the site of a community theater used for silent movies and vaudeville-style productions, was rebuilt as a movie house in 1932 after a fire. It showed films for more than 70 years, but in 2005 it was returned to a community theater by the owner, Dennis Tannenbaum. He wanted to renovate the theater, but found “the cost became too prohibitive,†he said recently.
Mr. O’Neill came across the theater as an investor in the online marketing company theatermania.com. Mr. Tannenbaum, who used the Web site as a ticketing agent, decided against redesigning the old stage theater, Mr. O’Neill began thinking about buying it himself, he said.
On Mother’s Day last year, while Mr. O’Neill was considering the purchase, his brother-in-law, John W. Engeman, 45, a soldier in Iraq, was killed by a bomb that exploded near his Humvee. Mr. Engeman had taken part in high school theater while growing up in East Northport, and later in the Army while stationed in Germany. His death clinched the decision for the O’Neills.
“The next day we decided to buy it and name it after him,†Mr. O’Neill said. He declined to disclose the price, but Suffolk County records show that the theater sold last September for $1.2 million.
The renovation involved replacing the leaky roof and carting away 58 tons of old roofing materials. The marquee will have a replica of the steel “Northport†sign that was on the theater for decades and was a fixture on Main Street and also an enlarged copy of Mr. Engeman’s signature.
To handle auditions and programming, Mr. O’Neill brought in Richard Dolce, a 38-year-old lawyer, as artistic director. Mr. Dolce has lifelong experience in theater; his family started and has operated the Broadhollow Theater Company, with spaces in Lindenhurst, East Islip and Elmont, for 31 years.
To conform to the rules set by Actors Equity, the Northport theater needed more space and specific accommodations for actors.
Mara Brothers Commercial Construction was the contractor on the job, expanding the basement from a six-foot long boiler room and utility room to a corridor 25 feet long that houses the 12-seat orchestra pit, costume storage, and four new dressing rooms. Each one has a full bath and light-bulb-lined mirrors.
The redesign of the theater, by Hoffman Grayson Architects of Huntington, focuses on comforts for the audience, including two men’s and two women’s bathrooms (10 stalls, compared with 3 in the old theater, which had 688 seats), and a separate bathroom accessible for those with disabilities.
The new stage is 31 feet deep. Back-lighted murals of pastoral scenes, a memorable feature over the last 70 years of the theater’s movie-house history, have been added to the six already preserved on the walls inside. A steel lattice structure above the stage supports the lighting, sound system and curtain controls.
The proscenium arch around the stage was enlarged, and a crystal chandelier hangs above the seats, adding to muted light from four restored stained-glass rosette fixtures in the ceiling. The new cherry wood bar replaces a concession stand dating to the 1980s, when the building was a $1.25-a-ticket movie house for second-run films.
A black-tie dedication ceremony on June 16 was attended by about 380 local politicians and residents and Broadway performers.
Mr. Dolce said there would be summer theater classes and traditional performances for children, like “The Wizard of Oz,†starting in the fall. The goal is to encourage widespread use so that Suffolk residents identify with the theater. “We’re also trying to sell the theater itself as a place they want to go,†Mr. Dolce said.
Northport had a traditional seating design, the orchestra sloped down from the rear to the front, on one level. There was a formal balcony, which is also where the mens’s room was located.
Saw Sweeney on Thursday at 7pm, noticed the projectionist in the lobby (nice guy, silver hair, can’t remember his name) and I asked “Any curtain action tonight?” and he said “Nope — it’s broken.”
You ain’t heard nothin' yet — “The Jazz Singer” starring Al Jolson screens here Sunday (12/2/07) at 11am for $5./ticket. I’ve never seen it on the big screen, and with the controvery over the recent DVD’s lack of critical perspective commentary about Jolson’s use of blackface, I’m curious to attend. They say a representative from the Al Jolson Society plans to be attending and available for Q & A after the film.
Blade Runner: The Final Cut is running here for one week only, a move-over from the Ziegfeld. In digital projection. I saw it at the Ziegfeld but may see it again here.
“She praised the refurbished Community Theater, a former movie house and concert venue with great acoustics, that now boasts a new stage, upgraded lighting and sound booth.”
(Community Theater at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts, Morristown, N.J., 1,274 seats; $175 top)
By ROBERT L. DANIELS
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2007.
Musical director-drums, Billy Lavorgna; piano, David Buckley.
Liza Minnelli kicked off a fall tour in the Garden State at Morristown’s refurbished Community Theater. The singer looked great, boasting the loss of 45 pounds and proudly strutting in a smart and sparkling off-the- shoulder Casey Paul design, topped by a glittering head piece. And she was in great voice, retaining the incandescent punch and verve that has become her trademark.
Minnelli began on secure ground, dotting her repertoire with songs she belted out in her acclaimed Winter Garden run a quarter of a century ago: “I Can See Clearly Now,” “Maybe This Time” and the signature tune from her Oscar-winning “Cabaret.”
She still commands the powerhouse drive that has long marked her career, but sat down midway through her act.
Minnelli, the sultry chanteuse, harbored restraint with some comforting evergreens. Beautifully nuanced readings of “My Ship,” “The Man I Love” and “He’s Funny That Way” reminded the listener of her gift for torchy nuance.
Second half of the program was an affectionate tribute to Minnelli’s godmother, Kay Thompson, the legendary night club entertainer who also penned the popular Eloise books, inspired by little Liza’s adventures at Gotham’s Plaza Hotel.
As an entertainer, Thompson, assisted by the Williams brothers (including a young Andy), was a popular figure on the club circuit. Minnelli, supported by a quartet of young men, recreated highlights from Thompson’s act with a rousing “Jubilee Time” and a sultry “Basin Street Blues.” Tribute peaked with “Clap Yo' Hands,” a Thompson rouser from the film “Funny Face.”
“I Love a Violin” appeared to take the wind out of the 61-year-old entertainer, who took a break as the gents offered the Thompson arrangement of the Gershwins' “Liza,” a sequence subsequently cut from the 1946 tuner “Ziegfeld Follies.” The song of course, served director Vincente Minnelli and MGM star Judy Garland as their daughter’s moniker.
The singer wound up with her trademark nod to the city that never sleeps, “New York, New York.” Responding to a standing ovation, Minnelli bid farewell to a capacity aud with an a capella offering of “I’ll Be Seeing You.”
She praised the refurbished Community Theater, a former movie house and concert venue with great acoustics, that now boasts a new stage, upgraded lighting and sound booth.
Subsequent tour dates include Greenvale (Oct. 13), Baltimore(Oct. 27) and Ft. Myers, Fla. (Oct. 28).
Here’s the text of the NY Times article of 6/27/07, link posted above.
NORTHPORT
ON Thursday in this harborside village, nine professional actors are scheduled to perform “Smokey Joe’s Cafe†before a full house in the renovated theater here at 250 Main Street.
The John W. Engeman Theater at Northport is the latest and most ambitious reincarnation of the space (the original opened around 1912) and an attractive new draw to this village’s bustling Main Street.
Downtown Northport, with walkable blocks of restaurants, gift and antique shops and waterfront parks, is often held up as an example of “smart growth,†but built long before that term came into vogue. Charming Victorians and colonials with wraparound porches line many of the streets and the cliffs overlooking the water, and the tracks of the Northport trolley, which once took early 20th-century theatergoers home after the show, are still visible on Main Street.
Kevin O’Neill, a former Treasury-bond trader, is behind the theater’s $2.5 million renovation, which was completed in seven months.
Mr. O’Neill is betting that suburban couples with children and busy weekends will pay $55 a ticket to see Manhattan-based professionals perform in musicals, and $45 to see them in plays, in their own backyard.
The theater is decked out with more suburban comforts than the usual city space, including a piano lounge and bar called the Green Room, which will open about two hours before a performance. The stadium-style seating (no obstructed views) features 402 seats, all with cup holders for that drink carried in from the lounge.
Thursday’s performance is sold out, and the theater has already sold 2,500 season tickets ($355 for seven shows), Mr. O’Neill said.
Mr. O’Neill, 44, expects most single and season ticket buyers to be much like himself and his wife, Patti, who live in nearby Lloyd Harbor with their four children.
“A night in Manhattan when you figure all the costs,†for tickets, parking, dinner and a baby sitter, can run $600, he said. Perhaps more important, it’s a lot of time†out of the weekend, a period when children are busy with activities. “Our goal is to expose people to theater of the caliber of Broadway that’s right here on Long Island,†he said.
There are plenty of amateur theaters on Long Island, but the John W. Engeman is one of only three that conform to the rules of the Actors Equity Association, the union for actors and stage managers. The other two, the Gateway Playhouse in Bellport and the Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, are near the Hamptons.
The Northport theater is in western Suffolk County, near the Nassau border, and will be the only year-round professional theater on the Island. But it will of course be competing with Broadway, a little more than an hour away (without traffic).
The building, originally the site of a community theater used for silent movies and vaudeville-style productions, was rebuilt as a movie house in 1932 after a fire. It showed films for more than 70 years, but in 2005 it was returned to a community theater by the owner, Dennis Tannenbaum. He wanted to renovate the theater, but found “the cost became too prohibitive,†he said recently.
Mr. O’Neill came across the theater as an investor in the online marketing company theatermania.com. Mr. Tannenbaum, who used the Web site as a ticketing agent, decided against redesigning the old stage theater, Mr. O’Neill began thinking about buying it himself, he said.
On Mother’s Day last year, while Mr. O’Neill was considering the purchase, his brother-in-law, John W. Engeman, 45, a soldier in Iraq, was killed by a bomb that exploded near his Humvee. Mr. Engeman had taken part in high school theater while growing up in East Northport, and later in the Army while stationed in Germany. His death clinched the decision for the O’Neills.
“The next day we decided to buy it and name it after him,†Mr. O’Neill said. He declined to disclose the price, but Suffolk County records show that the theater sold last September for $1.2 million.
The renovation involved replacing the leaky roof and carting away 58 tons of old roofing materials. The marquee will have a replica of the steel “Northport†sign that was on the theater for decades and was a fixture on Main Street and also an enlarged copy of Mr. Engeman’s signature.
To handle auditions and programming, Mr. O’Neill brought in Richard Dolce, a 38-year-old lawyer, as artistic director. Mr. Dolce has lifelong experience in theater; his family started and has operated the Broadhollow Theater Company, with spaces in Lindenhurst, East Islip and Elmont, for 31 years.
To conform to the rules set by Actors Equity, the Northport theater needed more space and specific accommodations for actors.
Mara Brothers Commercial Construction was the contractor on the job, expanding the basement from a six-foot long boiler room and utility room to a corridor 25 feet long that houses the 12-seat orchestra pit, costume storage, and four new dressing rooms. Each one has a full bath and light-bulb-lined mirrors.
The redesign of the theater, by Hoffman Grayson Architects of Huntington, focuses on comforts for the audience, including two men’s and two women’s bathrooms (10 stalls, compared with 3 in the old theater, which had 688 seats), and a separate bathroom accessible for those with disabilities.
The new stage is 31 feet deep. Back-lighted murals of pastoral scenes, a memorable feature over the last 70 years of the theater’s movie-house history, have been added to the six already preserved on the walls inside. A steel lattice structure above the stage supports the lighting, sound system and curtain controls.
The proscenium arch around the stage was enlarged, and a crystal chandelier hangs above the seats, adding to muted light from four restored stained-glass rosette fixtures in the ceiling. The new cherry wood bar replaces a concession stand dating to the 1980s, when the building was a $1.25-a-ticket movie house for second-run films.
A black-tie dedication ceremony on June 16 was attended by about 380 local politicians and residents and Broadway performers.
Mr. Dolce said there would be summer theater classes and traditional performances for children, like “The Wizard of Oz,†starting in the fall. The goal is to encourage widespread use so that Suffolk residents identify with the theater. “We’re also trying to sell the theater itself as a place they want to go,†Mr. Dolce said.
Northport had a traditional seating design, the orchestra sloped down from the rear to the front, on one level. There was a formal balcony, which is also where the mens’s room was located.
Saw Sweeney on Thursday at 7pm, noticed the projectionist in the lobby (nice guy, silver hair, can’t remember his name) and I asked “Any curtain action tonight?” and he said “Nope — it’s broken.”
Also, you can use Advanced Search and look under the former names feature.
Lynbrook only shows first run movies; new releases are split between the Fantasy in RVC and the Lynbrook. Art releases go to the Malverne.
I was here the other day to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. Full matinée prices ($8. adults, $7. kids) and there was NO HEAT in five of the six screens. “We’re waiting for the parts” said the young manager (not Mike) and yet they have the nerve to charge full price.
I love and want to preserve old theaters, but this is a shit-heap in need of some serious attention.
From the waist up, maybe. But everything below the waist — kaput!
Meanwhile, back on planet earth…
But where are they putting these IMAX screens? Are they raising the roof any maybe losing one or two of their terraces? I love those terraces.
Only 25 short blocks up Broadway.
You ain’t heard nothin' yet — “The Jazz Singer” starring Al Jolson screens here Sunday (12/2/07) at 11am for $5./ticket. I’ve never seen it on the big screen, and with the controvery over the recent DVD’s lack of critical perspective commentary about Jolson’s use of blackface, I’m curious to attend. They say a representative from the Al Jolson Society plans to be attending and available for Q & A after the film.
Or do they get off on weekends?
zzzzzzzzz
That’s because the AMC Empire was always an AMC theater, one of a small handful in the New York area, and the only one in Manhattan.
Teasers in Bay Shore. It’s a bookstore with a theater section and I have seen sex-discordant couples there.
I saw the marquee has been re-used on a bookstore down the street.
I dont remember the sound being off when I saw “Vertigo” there but it is some excellent location for the Blade Runner revival.
Those two staircases are still there and in use.
Just go. Jeez. Wednesdays are $5.50 all day. Want me to leave a ticket at the box office?
Blade Runner: The Final Cut is running here for one week only, a move-over from the Ziegfeld. In digital projection. I saw it at the Ziegfeld but may see it again here.
Is the theater a little tighter or are you a little wider?
I recommend that you see ANY movie at this unique theater, no matter what is playing. You won’t be sorry.
You can’t win: It’s either an overpaid union projectionist who doesn’t give a damn or an underpaid usher/manager who doesn’t give a damn.
“She praised the refurbished Community Theater, a former movie house and concert venue with great acoustics, that now boasts a new stage, upgraded lighting and sound booth.”
Above review reprinted from Variety.
Liza Minnelli
(Community Theater at Mayo Center for the Performing Arts, Morristown, N.J., 1,274 seats; $175 top)
By ROBERT L. DANIELS
Reviewed Sept. 28, 2007.
Musical director-drums, Billy Lavorgna; piano, David Buckley.
Liza Minnelli kicked off a fall tour in the Garden State at Morristown’s refurbished Community Theater. The singer looked great, boasting the loss of 45 pounds and proudly strutting in a smart and sparkling off-the- shoulder Casey Paul design, topped by a glittering head piece. And she was in great voice, retaining the incandescent punch and verve that has become her trademark.
Minnelli began on secure ground, dotting her repertoire with songs she belted out in her acclaimed Winter Garden run a quarter of a century ago: “I Can See Clearly Now,” “Maybe This Time” and the signature tune from her Oscar-winning “Cabaret.”
She still commands the powerhouse drive that has long marked her career, but sat down midway through her act.
Minnelli, the sultry chanteuse, harbored restraint with some comforting evergreens. Beautifully nuanced readings of “My Ship,” “The Man I Love” and “He’s Funny That Way” reminded the listener of her gift for torchy nuance.
Second half of the program was an affectionate tribute to Minnelli’s godmother, Kay Thompson, the legendary night club entertainer who also penned the popular Eloise books, inspired by little Liza’s adventures at Gotham’s Plaza Hotel.
As an entertainer, Thompson, assisted by the Williams brothers (including a young Andy), was a popular figure on the club circuit. Minnelli, supported by a quartet of young men, recreated highlights from Thompson’s act with a rousing “Jubilee Time” and a sultry “Basin Street Blues.” Tribute peaked with “Clap Yo' Hands,” a Thompson rouser from the film “Funny Face.”
“I Love a Violin” appeared to take the wind out of the 61-year-old entertainer, who took a break as the gents offered the Thompson arrangement of the Gershwins' “Liza,” a sequence subsequently cut from the 1946 tuner “Ziegfeld Follies.” The song of course, served director Vincente Minnelli and MGM star Judy Garland as their daughter’s moniker.
The singer wound up with her trademark nod to the city that never sleeps, “New York, New York.” Responding to a standing ovation, Minnelli bid farewell to a capacity aud with an a capella offering of “I’ll Be Seeing You.”
She praised the refurbished Community Theater, a former movie house and concert venue with great acoustics, that now boasts a new stage, upgraded lighting and sound booth.
Subsequent tour dates include Greenvale (Oct. 13), Baltimore(Oct. 27) and Ft. Myers, Fla. (Oct. 28).
Sometimes things fall off the backs of trucks.