Group organizes to save movie theater

 

Nicki Wilson, board president of the new nonprofit Triplex Cinema Inc., says strong local support enabled the group to act quickly to acquire the downtown Great Barrington movie theater. Susan Sabino photo

 

By JOHN TOWNES
Contributing writer

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass.

The Triplex Cinema, an independent movie theater that shut its doors in early June, appears headed for a rebirth under the ownership of a local nonprofit organization.

The newly formed nonprofit, Triplex Cinema Inc., is set to take over the four-screen multiplex theater in downtown Great Barrington this summer after reaching a $1 million deal to buy it from local developer Richard Stanley, who opened it in 1995.

Once the property at 70 Railroad St. formally changes hands, the new owners say they hope to reopen the theater by late summer or early fall.

“The elements are already in place to begin showing films again soon after the sale has been completed,” said Nicki Wilson, who serves as president of Triplex Cinema Inc. and has been a key organizer of the project.

The effort to save the Triplex under local ownership has developed rapidly since the news broke in March that the theater was at risk of closing permanently. Wilson and others set up an organization to acquire and operate the theater, and they signed a purchase and sale agreement with Stanley in June. They expect to finalize the sale after a 30-day due-diligence period.
Wilson said strong local public support enabled the effort to move forward without a lengthy period of planning and fund raising.

 

“I’ve never seen so much enthusiasm,” she said. “The community has really come together on this. In addition to financial and in-kind contributions, people from all walks of life have come forward to help. CFOs offered their business expertise, and others have done a lot of work in other ways.”

As an example, she cited a contribution by the internationally known photographer Gregory Crewdson, who lives in Berkshire County. He approached the organizers and offered to help raise funds by selling signed, limited-edition prints of a previously unpublished photograph. That effort alone raised $225,000.

Wilson also credited Stanley, who had run the theater since its inception, with helping to facilitate the financing and transition. He agreed to hold a mortgage on the property, enabling the organization to directly pay him the full purchase price over four years in annual installments rather than going through a bank or other financing source.

Triplex Cinema Inc. says it will rely on ticket sales and other earned income, combined with donations and membership fees, for its revenue. The organization has applied to the Internal Revenue Service for nonprofit status. While the group awaits approval of that status, the Filmmakers Collaborative of Boston has agreed to serve as the organization’s fiscal sponsor.
The new group had raised $600,000 by the end of June toward an initial of $1.7 million to cover the theater’s start-up costs and initial operating expenses. These include necessary upgrades such as a $400,000 heating and air conditioning system as well as next year’s second payment to Stanley.

The group has set up an online fund-raising page, savethetriplex.org.

 

Squeezed by the pandemic
Stanley, a real estate investor and developer, has long been active in efforts to revitalize Great Barrington. He has undertaken numerous projects in town, including redevelopment of the Barrington Block, a mixed-use commercial building downtown.

“I started the Triplex primarily as a community asset,” he said. “By the early ‘90s, two shopping centers in the south and north ends of town had sucked the life out of downtown Great Barrington. There were numerous vacant storefronts, and the streets rolled up at 5 p.m. I wanted the Triplex to create a ‘heart space’ that would draw people back to downtown.”

At the time, the Mahaiwe Theater on Castle Street, which was then the only movie theater in southern Berkshire County, was in the process of closing. A community effort ultimately saved the Mahaiwe but recast it as a performing arts center mainly for concerts and other live events.
The site of the Triplex had once been the home of a skating rink and later became a lumber storage yard. It had been badly damaged in a fire, and the site had become blighted. The state provided a grant to clean up the site and create a parking lot.

On that lot, Stanley built a new structure that included the Triplex and several storefronts and offices.

He said last month that the Triplex had achieved his goals for it, both as a business and as a stimulus for downtown. He later also founded and operated the Beacon Cinema in downtown Pittsfield before selling it four years ago.

“The Triplex Cinema did quite well as a business until Covid,” Stanley said. “It also had an important role in bringing downtown Great Barrington back to life. After it opened, more restaurants and nightlife and other businesses began to appear.”

But when the pandemic hit in early 2020, the mandated closures of businesses and subsequent social-distancing requirements devastated the entire movie industry, including large theater chains. Movie theaters already had been facing other pressures, including the growing role of movie streaming services.

“We had to close the Triplex for a year and a half during the pandemic,” Stanley said. “It also changed the habits of audiences. In addition, the number of quality films that were released to theaters dried up to a trickle.”

Stanley said the situation has since been improving. Movie theaters are beginning to recover from that period, with audiences returning and the supply of films increasing.

But despite the prospects of an upturn for the Triplex, Stanley also had a more personal reason for looking for a buyer.

“I turned 80, and I was thinking of succession,” he said. “I wanted to find a new operator who could bring in new blood and fresh ideas to take it into the next era, while retaining the original goals for the Triplex.”

In September, Cinema Lab, a New Jersey-based company that operates several movie theaters, approached him with an offer to buy the Triplex. He agreed to the concept of selling, and they started negotiations.

But early this year, the sale was placed in jeopardy when Cinema Lab said it had not raised sufficient capital for the purchase.

“I suggested to them that they should go public about the situation to generate local support and investment,” Stanley said.

This wound up prompting a community drive to save the theater, although the effort took a different form.

“Several of us were worried that Great Barrington could lose the Triplex, which is very important to the town,” Wilson said.

 

Organizing a rescue effort
Wilson, who has a background in regional live theater as a writer, director and producer, had been a founder of the New Stage Performing Arts Center and the Castle Hill Theatre Company.
She noted that the presence of the Triplex was a primary reason she had chosen to move to Great Barrington from her former home in Stockbridge a number of years ago.
After the news broke that the Triplex was at risk of shutting down, Wilson and others began to organize.

“We decided to send out a notice about the situation on a local e-mail community list, and held two initial public meetings,“ she said, estimating that about 50 people attended the initial meetings.

The campaign grew out of that, she continued.
“At the meetings we presented the three available options,” she recalled. “We could do nothing and possibly lose the Triplex. Or we could raise money to support the purchase by Cinema Lab. Or we could try and purchase it for a community-based nonprofit theater. Those attending the meeting voted for the local nonprofit strategy.”

Cinema Lab subsequently decided not to pursue its purchase of the theater, and the local group entered into negotiations with Stanley.

Stanley expressed confidence last month that the new organization will succeed.
“I believe this will be successful,” he said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be providing financing for it. The factors that made the Triplex successful before haven’t really changed. The new owners have a lot of work to do, but they have community support, and their vision for it is spot on.”

Local, nonprofit, independent

The Triplex is following a model that has been used to save other independent movie theaters around the region as nonprofit, community-based operations — including Images Cinema in Williamstown, the Crandell Theater in Chatham, N.Y., and the Moviehouse in Millerton, N.Y.
“That’s about the only way local independent movie theaters can survive today,” Wilson said.
She said her organization is building a staff and expanding its board. They have hired Ben Elliot, a local native who majored in film and has a background in operations and marketing, as managing director.

Wilson said the group plans to continue the basic role of the Triplex, while making some changes. They have retained Adam Birnbaum, the current film buyer for the Triplex, to book films. John Valente, former general manager of the Triplex and the Beacon Cinema, is advising the organization.

“The programming will be similar to what it’s been, with modifications,” Wilson said. “We’ll still show mainstream commercial films and blockbusters, as well as placing more emphasis on foreign and independent films. We’d like to bring in filmmakers to present and discuss their films. We’re also looking at themed programs like a horror series around Halloween.”
The Triplex will continue to be the home of the annual Berkshire International Film Festival each spring.

As a community-supported organization, the new nonprofit management also will fill other roles, Wilsons said.

“We’ll cater to community needs,” she explained. “We plan to partner with other local organizations. For example, we’re exploring possible programs with schools and initiatives like a student film festival. We’d also like to make it available for films and discussions on specific issues and topics. It will also be available for live events. We’re excited about what can be done.”
The organization expects to add a bar in the lobby and patio.

“We envision that as a community gathering place, where people can get together whether they are going to a film or not,” Wilson said.

Physically, she said, the theater is structurally sound, although there is a need for some updates and renovation. The group is working with Allegrone Construction to develop a long-term plan for tackling projects in phases.

“There are structural elements that will need fixing, but nothing critical that can’t be done over time,” she said. “The most pressing need right now is a new HVAC system, because the current one is at the end of its lifespan. We also will need to replace some projection and audio equipment.”