![]() ![]() The theater has existed for 107 years, surviving the Spanish flu and now COVID-19. I miss the 70 mm presentations.”įrom these comments, it is easy to see how much community members value the Somerville Theatre. One person wrote: “The place I miss most from 5 years living in Davis Square.” Another person commented, “I’ve missed you since 1987! (When I moved to California).” Someone else said, “Happy to you back open again. Their Facebook post announcing their reopening, captioned “Did you miss us?” has hundreds of likes, with many people in the comments cheering on the theater’s return. While a year-and-a-half closure could easily be catastrophic for a small business, the Somerville Theatre is reopening with a bang. The theater now has a newly renovated ballroom, in addition to an updated lobby and ticket sales areas. ![]() ![]() While this period was difficult, the closure also provided an opportunity for the theater to complete some renovations. While some of the theater staff were supported by the Paycheck Protection Program loans through part of the summer in 2020, he explained that for most of the closure, all of the staff were furloughed. “I’ve been running theaters for over 25 years and was 100 percent the most difficult thing,” he said. Ian Judge, creative director at the Somerville Theatre, described his experience during the closure. When COVID-19 hit, the theater was no longer allowed to operate. It makes even the bad movies fun, just to be there.” Sophomore Daniel Schwartz felt similarly about the value of seeing movies in theaters: “In the theater it’s much more immersive, and it has a much grander feel because there are the big speakers and the huge screen. Childs said, “I prefer when they do specials because I like seeing the movies that… I’m already familiar with on the big screen because I’ve never that experience.” ![]() There is also the sheer entertainment value of seeing a movie in theaters that makes going to the Somerville Theatre an enjoyable experience. “I wanted to see Once Upon a Time in Hollywood because offering it in 15mm and I thought that’d be super interesting to see,” he said. He explained that he was initially drawn to the theater because of one of the film formats that the theater was offering. Junior Eliseo Vigil, a film and media studies major, has been to the Somerville Theatre twice. Not only is a 70 mm image larger, but it allows the viewer to see more details and is of a higher resolution. 70 mm refers to a film format where the physical film and projected image on the screen is twice as wide as typical 35 mm movie film formats. The theater also offers a variety of film formats, being one of a small number of theaters in New England that shows movies in 70 mm. I got to see Sixteen Candles in the theater and it was so much fun… and I loved when they did the Halloween specials.” Childs talked about some of her experiences watching movies at the theater: “They also do vintage movies and throwbacks. The theater shows a broad range of films-including classic movies and art films-in addition to mainstream releases. They have the owls up in the corners and the decorations are always interesting.” She said, “It’s fun on the inside, it’s well done, it’s exciting, it’s personable. Sophomore Emily Childs is a Somerville local who has been to the theater many times. The interior of the theater has a classic, retro charm, heightening viewers’ experiences. In recent years, the theater has held 30 to 40 live events each year, including comedians and music groups such as Adele, Bruce Springsteen, and U2. In its early years, all of these formats were part of the theater’s programming, but when the Great Depression hit, the theater began only showing movies, and live performances did not return until the 1980s. In 1914, the theater was built as a space for on-stage performances-including vaudeville and opera-in addition to movies. After being closed for a year and a half due to the pandemic, the Somerville Theatre re-opened on September 17, 2021. Yellowish-white lights, neatly framing an awning, once again exude a brilliance in the darkness. Sitting in the middle of Davis Square at night, it’s hard not to be drawn to the lights of the Somerville Theatre. ![]()
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