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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OWNERS BRING NEW IDEAS TO JANE PICKENS THEATER
By James J. Gillis/Daily News staff
NEWPORT - Kathy Staab is new to the theater business, but she knows that just flinging open the doors and screening films is no longer enough
Staab and her husband, David, bought the Jane Pickens Theater on Washington Square in June from Mark and Douglas Jarvis.The brothers' father, Joseph Jarvis, owned the theater from 1974 until his death in March 2003.
Since June, Staab has made some incremental changes, including a new logo, increased advertising and a new projector, modernizing the look of films on the large screen. Now she is ready to step up the pace to create a business in which she wants to involve the community.
That means more movie-related events, renting the theater for corporate events and private parties and tying in the Newport International Film Festival, which will honor director Phillip Noyce ("Rabbit Proof Fence" and "The Quiet American") at the theater on Saturday, Dec. 11
Staab met with members of the public and the Newport County Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday night at the theater, with a cocktail party following at Yesterday's restaurant.
"We're doing things gradually, and it's going to be exciting," Staab said. "We want to make it more glamorous."
lready patrons have seen a few twists, such as a wine-tasting that followed the opening of the wine-centered film "Sideways," theater-goers receiving a rose after the French romance "Before Sunset," and folks spontaneously dancing in the aisles after the Cole Porter-flavored "De-Lovely."
"I think it's fun when people have a sense that anything can happen," Staab said.
The business people on hand Wednesday learned that the 550-seat theater is suitable for corporate meetings, and the new projector is able to handle PowerPoint presentations. In early 2005, the Web site www.janepickens.com will be up and running, providing a place for people to log on and discuss upcoming films and events.
Staab said she has hired a new booking agent and will stick largely with independent films. She said she likely will change films more frequently (if a movie did very well, Jarvis would keep it for months) to "create a sense of urgency" for those wanting to see it.
So far, business has been good, she said, though sometimes inconsistent. "Sideways," which is currently playing, is doing strong business: "It's been fun to look at the numbers every night."
Staab said she expects to create a cinema-restaurant partnership this winter, offering two-for-one deals.
Staab has spruced up the lobby, adding photos of the late Jane Pickens Langley Hoving, the theater's namesake, a one-time stage actress who settled in Newport. Jarvis changed the name from the Strand to the Jane Pickens when he took it over 30 years ago.
The lobby's Christmas tree features a gold replica Oscar statuette at the top.
The Staabs, who live in Lincoln, Mass., are movie theater rookies. But both know the business world. David Staab runs a manufacturing company in Pawtucket, and Kathy has an extensive resume in retail marketing, most recently with Gardener's Eden, which sells high-end outdoor furniture and accessories.
The Staabs said they plan at some point to settle in Newport, where they already own property. The theater faces fire-code upgrades and other renovations in the months ahead, Kathy Staab said, declining to provide dollar amounts.
Keith W. Stokes, executive director of the chamber of commerce, said he is excited about the new ownership, seeing the theater as a link between Washington Square and Broadway.
"This is great," he said. "We were all so worried that the building would get sold and be turned into condos. Kathy has some great ideas. I see this as all part of the plan, with this connecting to the mansions and the waterfront, a true downtown center."
Staab said she looks forward to creating a buzz with the element of surprise. And she has seen a surprise or two already.
"We're serving coffee now," she said. "And the first night I plugged (the coffee maker) in, the lights went out."
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