This past Monday, we visited the classic Kentucky Theatre -- its historic beginning, the threats to its physical survival, and the problems faced by this, and all, old theaters which must meet the onslaught of multi-plex competition. Today, we see what steps an astutue manager has followed to maintain the Kentucky’s position as the pride of downtown Lexington.

SOLUTIONS -- MEETING THE COMPETITION
Since the theater’s renovation, the historic State Theatre next door has become a part of the Kentucky’s venue. Now on Friday nights local bands come in to play as part of the “Kentucky Theatre Live” program in one auditorium, while midnight movies play in the other. Manager Fred Mills explains, “We have the staff coming in for the concerts anyway, so the only extra cost is the film rental. If we can get the films for a percentage of box office instead of a flat fee, then we really aren’t risking much financially running the shows.” This has helped the Theatre better use the resources it has and continues a tradition that spans almost 30 years.

The Kentucky Theatre hasn’t stopped there. With the full stage and sound facilities available in both the main auditorium and the neighboring State auditorium, they are able to host a wide variety of musical acts. The “Wood Songs Old Time Radio Hour” series created by folk singer Michael Johnathon is recorded in front of a live audience at the Kentucky every Monday night for broadcast on XM Satellite Radio and on the web as a podcast.

The all-volunteer community-run Troubadour Concert has found a home with the Kentucky Theatre. The program has grown significantly since its original six-show run. Now, almost ten years and over 160 shows later, the series attracts sell-out crowds on a regular basis.

This isn’t to say that the Kentucky has forgotten its cinematic roots. On the contrary, it drew near sell-out crowds for its Summer Movie Classics series which runs each year, May through August. Films such as Gilda, Hud, Forbidden Planet, and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly run Wednesdays on the big screen for two shows. Each film is preceded by a cartoon and a classic serial to help recreate the feel of going to the movies in the days when these films were new.

“We probably couldn’t do this series with the films we have been getting if we couldn’t run the films reel-to-reel,” admits Mills. “The films are classics and the prints we’re showing require a lot of care. You can’t just splice them together and run them on a platter system like a new release. In fact, some of the films, the distributors won’t even let us splice into 60 minute reels. We have to run them from the shipping reels and that means the projectionist is running a projector change every 20 minutes during a showing.” Mills doesn’t see this as a problem. He views it as one of the Kentucky’s strong points since running films “reel-to-reel” (using two alternating projectors to show the movie) is something that very few of today’s theaters can do.

The Kentucky supports local independent filmmakers. George Bonilla, founder of ZP Movies, premiered his first feature film: Zombie Planet, at the Kentucky in 2004, and newer Bonilla features such as Monstrosity are often featured as midnight shows. This may surprise some, since both features were done digitally, not on standard 35mm film. This proved to be no problem for the flexible Kentucky Theatre as, unlike many older venues, they are equipped to handle the new format by using their own brand of technology: They actually rigged up a digital projector about 1/2 way down into the auditorium, and then they ran their digital film off an X-Box. This has only been done for DVDs and, then, only for special showings of independent films or films produced locally.

What is next for the Kentucky Theatre? The ability to adapt to changing times, to find new ways to attract patrons, to maintain the classic theater feel, and to continue to welcome new indie productions are high on Mills’ list of goals. His audiences can expect Central Kentucky’s last true “Golden Age” theater to continue to be a vital part of the region’s culture.

His greatest expectation: That the Kentucky Theatre will continue to appeal to all ages of theater-goers for generations to come.