Marquis Theatre to add third screen

Author: Liam Gluck

The Marquis Theatre, Main Street's small-town movie theater with the unmistakable faded awning, is in the midst of considerable renovations, the biggest of which is the addition of a third movie screen in the upstairs balcony. The rest of the changes culminate into what theater owner and manager Bill Shafer calls "a facelift." Updates include new, larger restrooms, larger screens and a reconfigured lobby, complete with concessions and an ATM machine.

Shafter said he hopes these changes will bring modern convenience to a classic town landmark.

"I hope they will create a venue that adheres to modern desire and standards," he said.

Shafer's most recent construction on the theater is part of a continuing effort of improvement.

"When I bought [the theater] in 2006," Shafer explained, "Let's just say it was circling the drain." Having rescued the property, Shafer said he is looking forward to the increase in movies and showtimes, as well as better crowd accommodation with the addition of a screen. He also hopes to start the theater's first web site for ticket purchase.

An anonymous critic wrote in a blog post on MyTravelGuide.com that "The current ownership has done a very good job trying to improve the theater with putting some actual money into it."

Despite the overall expansion, Shafer promises that the place will always "fit the bill" of a comfortable, familiar venue in the community.

The theater will eventually host local film festivals, and a sign outside the window promises live music and comedy events beginning this summer, hoping to improve the theater's relationship with the moviegoers of Middlebury and Addison County.

The progress in construction is evident from the ladders, wires and construction workers that sometimes spill onto the sidewalk. Middlebury's pedestrians still welcome this scene as a sign of economic growth, while several businesses down the same street curb their hours and post "going out of business" signs on their windows.

When times are tough financially, Shafer explained, people need a good laugh or cry more than ever, so they go to the movies.

"Theaters were up 10 percent this past quarter," he said. Shafer notes his good fortune in falling prices, as well.

"The dollar stretches much further," he said, when it comes to material costs and construction fees.

"It's actually a great time to expand. You have to strike when the iron's hot."