If this graying trend continues, maybe these younger artists will have to settle for the stage that appears on in-home screens.Sony Pictures Entertainment announced that The Interview will be available online across the United States starting today, Christmas Eve. And there are plenty of people who still seem to want to learn how to perform. The strange thing is, this country boasts a lot of worthy, if not prestigious, schools that train people to how to act, dance, sing-play music. Younger people seem to have brushed off live worlds in favor of something else. This sea of gray is loud in the little theaters of America’s larger cities, not just places where there are a lot of retirees. I’ve been noticing this phenomenon in other audiences-at dance concerts, music performances, and plays. I will say the audience is often, well… pretty gray. The concessions are reasonably priced, too. ![]() All tickets for regular features cost $7.00 (most of the time). The women’s bathroom harkens back to an earlier era of coffee houses, while the cozy lobby showcases movie posters, old and new. It is also an old theater-it opened in 1937 as the Lakeside Theatre-that has been retrofitted and brought up-to-date, though it has plenty of arty touches. It’s the only theater in miles offering independent films on a regular basis. Now that I’ve begun my retirement on the Oregon Coast, I expect The Bijou Theatre in Lincoln City (not affiliated with the Bijou in Eugene) to be a welcome respite from the rainy days soon to commence. It was an icy winter night-I was happy as a clam. It was once even in danger of becoming a parking lot. These days, the Minor Theatre has been retrofitted to offer extra leg room, not to mention little tables for the enhanced concessions they sell in the lobby: microbrews, wine, pizza, wraps, baked goods, and the usual theater fare, including upscale hot dogs. Needless to say, it’s gone through a number of incarnations. It originally opened in 1914 and claims to be one of the oldest movie theaters in the country. Last winter I discovered The Minor Theatre in Arcata, California. While the home-viewing experience has improved dramatically, it can’t always match the grandeur of the big screen. I’ve got my fingers crossed Americans will continue to support their movie theaters, even the larger chains. I must admit, I enjoy binge watching as much as anyone else, but I still manage to make my way to the movies when I’m in the mood to get out of the house. ![]() It was sad to watch some of these theaters eventually close as people began forgoing cinemas in favor of home-viewing. Only larger cities and college towns seemed to offer them, not to mention the independent movies they screened. By then such theaters were being called independents. I continued to covet quirky movies houses after I moved to Seattle, and then later, San Diego. You’ve just got to see… You knew they’d probably never get the chance. It was particularly satisfying to describe one of these flicks to someone who’d missed it. It felt like these movies were hard to come by-like only a lucky few got to view them, because they weren’t being shown all over town. But that didn’t prevent me from becoming a fan of foreign films. Sitting in that drafty building with Italian Gothic vaulted wood ceilings, one could not help but think of coffins. ![]() We were delighted by the fact that the cinema was housed in an old funeral home. I usually attended the Bijou with new friends, the people I was meeting on campus. I experienced this uncanny space shortly after it opened in 1980-I’d just become a freshman at the University of Oregon. My first “arty” movie theater was the Bijou in Eugene, Oregon (officially, Bijou Art Cinemas).
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