"I saw my first movie in this theater. It was Disney's Bambi."
"My first kiss was in the back row, right-hand side during a Cary Grant film."
People often share their fond memories of past movie watching experiences at the Geauga Theater on Chardon Square with the theater's staff, headed by manager Karen Porter.
In August of 2006, the Geauga Lyric Theater Guild, a community-theater organization that has provided more than 50 years of quality live theater productions to area audiences, embarked on a new venture. A retractable movie screen was installed in the ceiling above the stage. And, the men's dressing room was converted into a projector room to house a newly purchased movie projector. Several of the GLTG's youth volunteers then were trained and movies returned to Chardon - at least on a part-time basis.
"We wanted to provide the community with movies in between our live theater productions as a service to the area while also raising additional funds for our continued up keep and improvement of this facility," said Porter.
The Geauga Theater was built in 1939 as part of Franklin D. Roosevelt's work program during the depression. It served as a movie house for more than 50 years. After closing and sitting idle for several years, the property was donated to the village, which in turn leased it to the GLTG to use for its educational programs and drama productions.
While the original intent was to show classic old movies, the response was limited, so GLTG has been offering " second run," or newer, movies at the low price of $4 general admission.
"Because we are smaller than the big multipex theaters in the area, we can get to know our patrons. The atmosphere here is very relaxed and friendly. We try to be family oriented, so we do not schedule 'R' rated movies," said Porter, who also serves on the GLTG board. "The only complaint we've had is that there is no popcorn. But when customers see how nice the seats are, they understand our desire to preserve the renovations made several years ago."
"We hope to continue to bring both live and film entertainment to the community," added Porter. "Our future plans include some classic film festive weekends, and we have even reserved the original "Frankenstein" for next Halloween.
"We hope the public will think of us when they plan a night out at the movies.