Tending to the Rose: Fundraisers unfurl for local theater amongst setbacks
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Rose Theatre owners Michael D'Alessandro and George Marie with their youngest son Emile, age 9. Photo by Derek Firenze [/caption]
Like its namesake, the Rose Theatre requires attentive care to continue to blossom.
Even when the theater first emerged from the seed, changes had to be made. First, it was a simple repotting from its original location just one year after opening in 1907. Then, the theater closed in 1958, and other enterprises tried to grow over the old. It took Rocky Friedman tilling the soil with Phil Johnson's financial backing and the many hands of the community to bring the building back to its original purpose in 1992.
After 30 years of tending, Friedman passed the Rose on to current owners George Marie and Michael D'Alessandro. In their year and a half as stewards, they’ve already faced both storms and droughts.
After surviving a small fire in a popcorn machine at the beginning of July, last month ended with a much darker mechanical problem. On Saturday, July 27, the projector went down for the Rose Theatre’s oldest and most lucrative screen during the opening weekend of this summer’s Marvel blockbuster.
“That was pretty heart wrenching,” Marie said in an interview with the Beacon. “I wept at the register. I just broke down crying.”
Those tears come after struggles far beyond any one day’s challenges.
“We’ve run the numbers every way we can,” Marie said. “At this point, we have cut every single thing that we can cut. Michael and I are working 60 hours a week, we have our kids there with us. We’ve done everything that we possibly can.”
The movie industry as a whole is still suffering from the drought of pandemic shutdowns and the dual strikes of both actors and writers that put a stop to film production.
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The current projectors used by the Rose are no longer being made and need to be replaced. New servers, which are the brains of the projectors, are already on the way thanks to a community fundraising drive. Photo by Derek Firenze [/caption]
Domestic box office sales peaked at $11.9 billion in 2018 before plunging to $2.1 billion in 2020. After a comeback to only around $9 billion in 2023, projections for this year have been hobbled by the impact of the strikes. Analysts believe sales for 2024 may reach little more than $8 billion, a year-over-year decline. This decline has been hard on all cinemas, but it especially affects independently owned movie theaters.
Low attendance numbers have already killed off thousands of theaters. Since 2019, the number of total screens in the U.S. has decreased by around 3,000. Closer to home, the Uptown Theatre closed last month when the building was listed for sale.
“If this was just a problem at The Rose, this low attendance issue that we’ve had, then I would actually feel a lot better,” Marie said. “Then I would know that we just need to change some things here. But low attendance has been happening nationwide, and theaters have been closing nationwide.”
“When there’s low attendance, there’s no way for us to have the funds when things break, and things are always breaking,” she added.
The show must go on
After hours on the phone attempting to fix the projector, a day of lost sales, and temporarily borrowing a server from the Seattle International Film Festival, they’re still not out of the weeds.
All three of their projectors have reached an end-of-life stage, and Marie estimates it will cost over $150,000 to replace them with new servers and projectors. Thankfully, the community came running to the call when the Rose launched a crowdsource funding campaign through GoFundMe.
“There’s this great quote that I’ve seen that Rocky has used before and I’m using it now in this campaign,” Marie said. “A town’s old theaters are the sanctuaries of its dreams.”
“I think they are a place for joy, hope, and connection, and I just don’t see any other places doing that for us,” she added.
Within a week, they hit their original goal of $75,000 to get new servers installed and received a significant uptick in movie attendance as well. They then increased their fundraiser to $150,000 to purchase new projectors, though this goal may be adjusted as they learn more.
Marie said that they’re still debating the technology because the projectors they use now aren’t made anymore.
“We knew that they have a fifteen-year lifespan. We were hoping to stretch it out as long as possible. We still are, but now we know we have to be prepared, we have to have a fund to replace things as they break,” Marie said.
“We knew this day was coming, we just hoped it would come after a really busy season so that we could afford to fix it,” she added. “We’ll have to upgrade to the latest technology, and we don’t honestly know exactly what that’s going to cost.”
Marie noted that brand new projectors can cost over $100,000 a piece, but they hope to locate projectors that are more affordable.
Affordability remains at the heart of their endeavor across the board.
“The average cost for a ticket in our area is about $18,” Marie said. “I’ve been charged $25 for a movie when I’ve headed into the Seattle area.”
Tickets in the Starlight Room, where you can sit amongst plush vintage furniture under crystal chandeliers, cost $14. The main theater charges just $12 for adults, $6 for kids aged 5-12, and is free to those 5 and under.
“I know our young families are struggling here,” Marie said.
She also mentioned that they offer a discounted matinee showing for seniors who might otherwise not be able to afford their already low prices.
“That felt really important to us, but we lose money on that show every time we do it,” Marie said.
Beyond that, the theater also runs a “Two for Tuesdays,” buy-one-get-one ticket sale in hopes of driving traffic.
To dig in with the community, the Rose will begin hosting a free movie once a month, starting with a showing of Steven Spielberg's E.T. on August 11th.
Marie said, “I know that it’s counterintuitive, but we hardly make any money on tickets. We make money when people go to concessions. We make money when people purchase memberships. We make money when people decide to help support our staff through tips and give donations.”
“When you offer a free event, it entices people to do those other things,” she continued. “I’m willing to pay the fees with the understanding and hope that people will put their money elsewhere.”
Tickets for the free community movie are available in-person at the theater and it is recommended to get your tickets in advance.
