Newtown Theatre Bucking The Trend Of Closings; Enjoying New Success

NEWTOWN BOROUGH, PA — At a time when theaters across the nation are shutting down, the historic Newtown Theatre is enjoying success.

After digging itself out of a huge financial hole and then surviving a year and a half shutdown by COVID, the oldest continuously operating movie theatre in the country is back on track, spurred on by a new business model that no longer relies on just movies to pay the bills.

Andy Smith, who took over operations seven years ago as the theatre’s executive director, told members of the the Newtown Rotary Club at a recent meeting that a combination of live concerts, comedy acts, rentals and special movie nights has brought more and more people back to the theatre.

Another key to the theatre’s turnaround, Smith told the Rotarians, has been a $600,000 renovation project, which saw the installation of new seating, new flooring, a wheelchair lift, a new entranceway and a new paint job in the fall of 2021.

The historic Newtown Theatre on North State Street.

“Rentals are now a huge part of the business,” said Smith. “Most people came in before, looked at the state of the place and then they left,” said Smith. “Now people look at it and say, ‘Who do I make the check out to?’

“We reopened in December 2021 (following the renovations) and honestly, since then, it’s been an unbelievable transformation,” said Smith. “Now we’re on track to do about 50 or more concerts a year and we’re selling out a huge number of them. We have a regular comedy night,” he said.

While movies are no longer the sole focus of the theatre, they continue to be part of the schedule, including cult classics and special holiday showings. “People say we never show movies. Last year we showed 52 movies,” he said.

Smith said the theatre has moved away from showing first run movies, which are no longer economical. He said the studios charge 65 cents on every dollar. They also require the movie to run four weekends.

“It’s very difficult,” said Smith, to make that kind of financial commitment. “We make more on a really good sold out concert on a Saturday night then we would make in two months of movies.”

Looking ahead, Smith said the theatre has begun partnering with local businesses offering dinner, special event and movie packages.

“We did a night at Rocco’s. People had dinner there and then walked down the street and saw the movie, ‘The Godfather.’ We sold the first one out in 10 hours. And then we sold out a second one.”

For Valentine’s Day, Smith said the theatre partnered with Relic for a dinner and a movie night out. Patrons enjoyed a special dinner at Relic and then walked down to the theatre to enjoy a performance by the Eric Mintel Jazz Ensemble.

Inside the renovated Newtown Theatre. (photo courtesy of the Historic Newtown Theatre)

“We’re going to do an event in June with Ned’s Cigars and Triple Sun. We’re going to have a cigar night out in back of the theatre. We’ll have a whiskey and bourbon tasting and then everyone will go inside and watch the movie, ‘Goodfellas.’ I guarantee you that will sell out,” he said.

When Smith first took over operations at the theatre, he used to get one of two reactions - “people who would say to me, ‘I love that old theatre, but there’s nothing there I want to see’ or people viewed it as more of a museum. They’d say, ‘Isn’t it great that we have it. I don’t go there, but it’s great that it’s preserved.’

“I would tell them, ‘Hey. You have to think of the theatre as a driver of the economy of Newtown,” said Smith. “When people come here to a sold out concert, they’re going to eat at Rocco’s or Relic or other places in town. I do think people are starting to see that the theatre brings people into town, which has pretty much been my goal.

“The reaction I used to get from people was, ‘Newtown has a theatre? or ‘I never go.’ Now, I love it. People get mad at me because a concert is sold out. I know we’re doing something right when I hear so many people say to me, ‘It’s so nice to see the theatre busy.’ I now get very few people who say, ‘Where’s the theatre?’”

Following his talk, the Newtown Rotarians presented Smith with a $500 donation toward the next phase of the theatre’s renovation project - replacing the seats in the balcony and a bathroom project in the theatre's basement. That’s scheduled to happen in the summer of 2024.

Coming Attractions At The Newtown Theatre

• The theatre will be screening Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” (1954) on Sunday, Feb. 19 at 7:30 p.m. and Wednesday, Feb. 22 at 2 p.m. Both screenings are part of the monthly Harris Comfort Classic Film Series. Tickets are $12 for adults, $10 for seniors and students, and $6 for Newtown Theatre members. Tickets can be purchased at the box office starting a half hour before the film.

• The theatre has more laughs on tap later this month when comedian Dave Landau hits the stage on Saturday, Feb. 25 for two shows – 6 and 8:30 p.m. Tickets include one drink. Landau is one of the most in-demand headliners working today. His laid-back demeanor and dark style of comedy landed him on Comedy Central’s “This is Not Happening” and AXS.TV’s “Live at Gotham” five times. He was also a finalist on season 8 of NBC’s “Last Comic Standing.” Tickets are available at thenewtowntheatre.com

• The theatre will be screening “The Hidden Life of Trees” on Tuesday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m. Following the documentary, a guest speaker will discuss the film and answer questions. This event is co-hosted by Bowman's Hill Wildflower Preserve. In the acclaimed documentary, renowned forester and author Peter Wohlleben travels the world while discussing, debating and explaining the amazing process of life, death and the regeneration of trees. Tickets are available at thenewtowntheatre.com.

• The Newtown Theatre and ArtWRKD are teaming up again to present “A Curious Newtown Evening” on Friday, March 24. The night starts between 5 and 7 p.m. at Artwrkd art consortium, located at 126-128 South State Street in Newtown. There, guests can enjoy ArtWRKD’s current show, “The Wonder Room,” featuring 10 different artists’ work from assemblage to paintings based on the curiosity theme. Guests will also peruse a unique collection of oddities and curiosities imported from The Museum of Interesting Things in New York City. Ticketholders can come and go anytime between 5 and 7 p.m. and are encouraged to grab dinner in town before dropping by ArtWRKD. Starting at 7, the theatre will open its doors for a show that will begin at 8 p.m. The show will feature a number of “curious acts” of a sideshow nature, including a strong lady, a contortionist, Shreevash the Indian magician, a belly dancer, and a fire eater. The soundtrack for the show will be provided by Drew Nugent & the Midnight Society, a band that performed at the theatre’s burlesque show last November. Tickets are available at thenewtowntheatre.com.

• Slapstick fans are invited to “nyuk-nyuk-nyuk” it up with Larry, Moe and Curly during the Newtown Theatre’s 6th annual Three Stooges Film Fest on Sunday, April 2 at 2 p.m. Michelle Squiccimara, registrar and outreach coordinator of the Stoogeum history museum in Ambler, will host the event and introduce five classic short films. Tickets are available at thenewtowntheatre.com.