Last screening at 3:45pm Thurs
Starring Robert DuVall, Sissy Spacek and Bill Murray
For advance tickets visit www.movietickets.com
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First performance Live from Royal Opera House
Cosi Fan Tutte
Friday September 10th 2:00PM
Sunday September 12th 11:00AM prerecorded
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Sept 9th 8:30pm
See new release Leonard Cohen on our screen before the dvd is available for sale. SONGS FROM THE ROAD, a dozen of Cohen’s most famous songs from that world tour, the best of Cohen’s performances at auditoriums, arenas, and stadiums from Tel Aviv to London
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Special screenings of
BEHIND THE HEDGEROW
a look inside the private world of aristocratic Newport
September 7th-September 16th limited showtimes
HELD OVER FOR ANOTHER WEEK UNTIL SEPTEMBER 16TH. Filmmaker David Bettencourt will be at the theater for q and a on September 8th.
Admission $10, members $6
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PROSPECTIVE PICKENS OWNERS HOPE SHOWS WILL GO ON
By James J. Gillis/Daily News staff
NEWPORT - A Massachusetts couple plans to buy the Jane Pickens Theatre and keep it as a movie house.
David and Kathy Staab of Lincoln have signed a purchase agreement to buy the theater, which dates to the early 20th century and went on the market in February. David Staab said he and his wife had planned to close the deal today, but said sellers Mark and Douglas Jarvis asked for a delay to iron out some details.
"We're ready to go," David Staab said. "I think it will take no more than two weeks - max."
Staab, 55, said his wife is handling the bulk of the deal. But he outlined plans for the theater, which he hopes will be a centerpiece of the local arts community.
Growing up in suburban Pittsburgh, Staab said, movie-going was a more entertaining experience than it is for youngsters today. With that in mind, he would like to possibly add kids' matinees and live events involving local schools to the schedule, while maintaining the theater's traditional fare. Classic films are another feature the couple is thinking about, David Staab said.
"We want to be able to provide something beyond what the multiplexes offer," he said.
Staab said he and his wife eventually plan to retire in Newport, where they already own commercial and residential property, and this is a way to become part of the community.
"We really want to involve the whole town and do something positive in the community," he said.
The Staabs are rookies in the movie business, but David Staab said both understand business and marketing. He runs a manufacturing company in Pawtucket and his wife has a long history in retail marketing, currently working for Gardeners Eden, which sells high-end outdoor furniture and other accessories.
The future of the Pickens, the last big single-screen theater in the state, has been in question since owner Joseph Jarvis died in March 2003 at age 82. His sons, Mark and Douglas, had no long-term interest in running the theater and started to entertain offers informally last year.
The theater officially went on the market this past February, and Mark Jarvis said he hoped potential buyers would continue to run the Pickens as a theater.
And the Staabs entered with movies in mind. "We jumped on it the second day," Staab said. "It's something we really wanted to do. It's taken a little longer than we planned to get things done, but we're looking forward to it."
Staab declined to say how much he and his wife intend to pay, but said they will spend money on repairs and comply with any codes and ordinances that apply. "It needs some work on the roof and some maintenance," he said. "And we'll have to put in some sprinklers."
The theater, once a church, for years was known as the Strand, until Joseph Jarvis bought it in 1975 and renamed it for Jane Pickens, a former stage performer who settled in Newport.
The Pickens, which specializes in independent films, has had its financial struggles through the years. In April 1992, Jarvis closed the theater for two months, saying the operation was losing money.
A group of patrons quickly organized a membership drive, allowing Jarvis to keep money in the till by providing discounts in exchange for annual membership dues. The theater also became a pivotal part of the Newport International Film Festival, which started in 1998 and runs this year from June 8-13.
The theater is the site of the festival's annual opening night film, and one of the festival's top awards is named for Jarvis, who worked his way up from teenage movie house usher to cinema owner.
Staab said he and his wife never met Jarvis, nor have they attended films at the Pickens. But he said they have done their homework on Newport. One goal is to connect with the local hotel industry, perhaps offering discounts to guests.
"There are 17 different festivals in town," Staab said. "And we'd like to offer something related to them. There could be Italian films during the Italian festival, Irish movies during the Irish festival, those kinds of things."
Keith W. Stokes, executive director for the Newport County Chamber of Commerce, had not heard about plans for the Pickens on Tuesday, but was excited about the prospect of new owners running the Washington Square theater.
"If that's the case," he said, "I think it's terrific."
The nearby Opera House is undergoing extensive renovations in order to convert it to a performing arts center in 2007. Stokes said both theaters have a chance to thrive, at a time when Newport is re-examining its downtown.
"I think they could be a vibrant part of the city," he said. "I think they could help downtown really be like a town square, a place where everyone congregates."
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