What a Save!
A COMMUNITY RESCUES THE TRIPLEX CINEMA—AND THAT’S ONLY THE BEGINNING
By Laura Mars // Photo By Gregory Cherin
Shortly before the Triplex Cinema in Great Barrington closed its doors last spring, rumors started flying. There’s a buyer. The buyer can’t raise the money. The buyer pulled out. The theater is closing. Use your gift certificates before it’s too late!
Nicki Wilson, president of the new nonprofit Triplex Cinema Inc., and Triplex Managing Director Ben Elliott stand outside of the theater that will reopen on November 17.
Then, in less time than it takes to say, “Does anyone know what is happening with the Triplex?” a group of volunteers formed the grassroots organization Save the Triplex and subsequently the nonprofit Triplex Cinema, Inc., which bought the theater from local businessman Richard Stanley. In less than 24 weeks after the Triplex went dark on June 4, it will reopen at least two of its four theaters on November 17 with the screening of The Holdovers (filmed at Deerfield Academy). A small opening night party will follow the 7 p.m. screenings.
Just how much the community loves the Triplex is evident by how it went—in lightning-speed—from doom and gloom to a bright future. It all began when a diverse group of movie lovers met on April 1 at the home of Nicki Wilson, who was to become their president. They were intent on finding a way not only to keep the Triplex alive, but to reopen it in a way that benefitted the community. Primarily from GoFundMe and an art sale, they raised enough money for a down payment. On July 24, Triplex Cinema, Inc. became the new owner. A major triumph, indeed, but no time to celebrate. They went to work raising funds to repair and renovate, welcoming donations from everyone and everywhere, including $69,000 from the Berkshire International Film Festival (BIFF), $150,000 from the Fitzpatrick Family Trust, and even proceeds from a tag sale. They’ve raised more than $900,000 toward a goal of $1.7 million.
“Community support has been unbelievable,” says Wilson. “I’ve lived in the Berkshires for 39 years and have always loved my community. How they’ve stood up and fought for this to happen is truly magical, like a dream. We have over 1,000 donors; it’s astounding.”
Wilson is a self-described movie addict with a performing arts background. She and the rest of the Save the Triplexboard of directors—Hannah Wilken, Sam Handel, Molly Cooper, Stephen Goodman, Gail Lansky, and John Valente—as well as tons of volunteers organized “Bring Back the Movies,” a hugely successful fundraiser at Saint James Church in Great Barrington. Segments of well-known movies were read by Berkshire’s own Karen Allen, Lauren Ambrose, Jayne Atkinson, Gregory Boover, MaConnia Chesser, Michel Gill, and Daniel Osman, with musicians Gigi and Tom Teeley and directed by Michelle Joyner. (Read about Joyner and her husband, Robert Egan, on page 64.)
Building on the success of the sold-out summer show, a second “Bring Back the Movies” is slated for December 16 with two performances, again directed by Joyner, at Simon’s Rock with a cast that includes David Rasche (Karl Muller on the hit series Succession), who has a house in nearby Hillsdale, New York. Rasche says he looks forward to taking part in the December reading. A big fan of the Great Barrington cinema, he was a regular Triplex movie-goer and is eager to return.
Actors and Berkshire residents Jayne Atkinson and husband Michel Gill also are thrilled to be part of the effort that is transforming the Triplex into a multicultural center. “It was such a pleasure to work with Joyner, who is insightful and deeply articulate,” says Atkinson.
Both Wilson and Triplex Managing Director Ben Elliott envision an educational, cultural, and social organization for the community. In addition to blockbusters, their plan includes free programs for kids on Saturday mornings, movies for teenagers on Friday nights, and educational and social issue films with talkbacks.
“We're partnering with Berkshire Film and Media Collaborative, and Berkshire Hills, Southern Berkshires, and Pittsfield school districts,” says Wilson. “Berkshire OLLI will use our theater space as their South County Campus. Greenagers will show films here. Rural Recovery, who support those affected by substance abuse, will use the space to show films. It’s going to be the Triplex times 10.”
As a teen growing up in Great Barrington, Elliott spent a lot of time at the Triplex before going to film school in Chicago. “The industry is changing, and people expect a different experience,” says Elliott, who also serves on the town’s selectboard. He is referring not only to providing comfy seats in the theaters, but also to having a cool space to gather before and after a show, as well as holding live introductions, talkbacks, and expert-led conversations.
That couldn’t make the BIFF happier. “We are so grateful to the Triplex group for keeping our heart space alive,” says BIFF Founder and Artistic Director Kelley Vickery. “Other film festivals use town halls and libraries. To have a gift like the Triplex as your home for the past 18 years is amazing. Stanley was an incredible partner, and I feel that energy now. The notion that this amazing space would be turned into condos or a museum is unthinkable. It’s got to be a multi-event space with a movie theater as it heart.” In addition to the BIFF’s annual film festival, it plans to bring its impactful environmental series—now in its sixth year—back to the Great Barrington theater.
Betsy Andrus, president of the Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce, grew up in Great Barrington and not only remembers the theater before BIFF, but the space before it was a theater—as a roller-skating rink where she went as a high schooler and then a lumber yard. It was exciting, she recalls, when the property was cleaned up and revamped as a theater in the 1990s. At the time, the Mahaiwe was the only theater in town, and it wasn’t the most comfortable place to watch a movie, with old seats and little to no heat. It also didn’t always show what the community wanted to see. (The Mahaiwe has since been spectacularly restored and is now a premiere location for live performances and special movie screenings.)
An interesting find from its roller rink days was uncovered during the recent cleanup—40-year-old graffiti by neighborhood kids who were encouraged to create the artwork. It will be covered up once again by new paneling inside the theaters, and the plan is to hang images of the nostalgic wall art in the lobby.
“Locals want to see movies that are popular,” continues Andrus. “It makes sense to have one theater dedicated to movies you might not have the opportunity to see elsewhere, but also offer normal block-busters for the average local person.”
Elliott, whose favorite movie of all time is Jaws, agrees that showing first-run movies is crucial and says they’ve got it covered. “When we have all four screens up and running, the plan is for Theater 1, with a slightly bigger screen, to be dedicated to blockbusters.”
John Valente also recalls the early days of the Triplex. He became assistant manager in 1997, then manager of both the Triplex and the Beacon in Pittsfield. “The Triplex had a great run before society and the industry began to shift,” he says, “and you had to work a lot harder to get people in the door.”
Valente, who directed soap operas in New York City before moving to the Berkshires, has stayed connected to the Triplex after he retired in 2015 and continues as a Save the Triplex board member. “There is a connection to this place that has been rekindled. It’s up to young people like Ben and Hannah who want the Triplex in their lives. It’s up to us to make sure the momentum keeps going.” All eyes are on Friday, November 17.
Here’s what we know about opening day at the Triplex, which will feature the film The Holdovers:
At least two of the four theaters will be freshened up and opened for business. The lobby, concession, and balcony will be shiny and clean with some new features, and a complete lobby redo will be unveiled a few months later.
Theater 2, which needs the most work, will stay dark until spring, when it will reopen with a complete makeover— new seats, floor, wall panels, curtains, and sound system.
After Theater 2 debuts, the other three theaters will take turns going through renovations over the next two years. Upon completion, all will have new seating except Theater 4, whose seats are newer.
A new, easy-to-navigate website will be up and running.
There’s more! Maestro will open December 15 at the Triplex Cinema. On December 17, Stephen Wadsworth, music professor at Juilliard who wrote A Quiet Place with Leonard Bernstein and was Bradley Cooper's advisor on Maestro, will interview Bernstein’s daughter, Nina, in a talkback after the film. The following weekend, the Triplex will show West Side Story, On the Town, and On the Waterfront, punctuated by live introductions and discussions by those close to Bernstein's work.
More breaking news! There’s talk of removing the lobby’s south wall that connects to a storefront space owned by the Triplex. A renovated movie house and a place to meet friends and grab a bite before or after the show? Even more reason to go to the Triplex. And hold onto your unused gift certificates—we’ve been told they will be honored soon after the reopening. See you at the movies! savethetriplex.org
Favorite Holiday Movies
The “Bring Back the Movies” fundraiser for Save the Triplex on Saturday, December 16, is counting on holiday classics to put you in the spirit, with lines from It's a Wonderful Life, Miracle on 34th Street, A Christmas Carol, The Diary of Anne Frank, and a few surprises.
Another classic that gets us dancing is Irving Berlin’s musical classic White Christmas, set in the fictional town of Pine Tree, Vermont. An unscientific poll floated these holiday favorites to the top: The Family Stone, Elf, Love Actually, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, The Holiday, The Santa Clause, A Christmas Story, Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, and the 1964 animated version of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.
If choosing which version of A Christmas Carol to watch seems complicated, here are our top five: 1. 1951 version with Alistair Sim; 2. 1938 version with Reginald Owen; 3. Scrooge from 1935 with Sir Seymour Hicks; 4. the 1971 animated version; and 5. Scrooged from 1988 with Bill Murray and our favorite actress, Karen Allen.
Some other holiday movies on our to-watch- again list: Spirited (knockoff of A Christmas Carol), The Polar Express, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Die Hard, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. Don’t forget Rise of the Guardians, Happiest Season, National Lampoon’s A Christmas Vacation, and last, but definitely not least, Frosty the Snowman and A Charlie Brown Christmas.