Adaptation: Movie houses morph into music halls

Movie multiplexes have largely decimated the stand-alone downtown movie theaters of old, but a few such theaters are managing to survive -- and, in some cases, thrive -- by diversifying.

In the case of two nearby cinemas, that means that what were once movie theaters are now venues for live radio shows. At the Rex in Galax and the Downtown Cinema Theatre in Mount Airy, visitors can hear some good old-fashioned music, and so can audiences at home.

Every Friday night for 10 years, the Rex has been home to bluegrass and traditional music with the live music show Blue Ridge Backroads, which is broadcast on radio station WBRF 98.1-FM and heard in four states and online at blueridgecountry98.com.

The 70-year-old theater seats 475 people, and admission to the Friday night shows is free. It runs from 8 to 10 p.m. Listeners can also catch up with old broadcasts and find out about coming bands at rextheatergalax.com.

Dave Nelson, the director of parks and recreation for Galax and the manager of the Rex, remembers seeing films at the theater when he first arrived in Galax in 1979. "That was the only movie theater in town then," he said.

The theater eventually closed and then was taken over by the Galax Downtown Association. It sat empty for a while, Nelson said, and might have fallen victim to demolition until a group of volunteers helped with the renovation in the late 1990s.

"There's a historical value to it," he said of the theater. "So many people in this area had gone to the movies there. It's a building that still has the marquee, the old yellow lights underneath and the neon lights above, which is such an attraction, and we still use those letters put up by hand on the marquee. We hear a lot of people who enjoy seeing the older theaters with the high ceilings."

The Friday night shows are the only regularly scheduled events at the theater, but there are about five to seven other performances held there each month, Nelson said. Those include musical acts, plays by the local theater guild, childrens' shows organized by the library, and, yes, the occasional movie screening.

Since its renovation, the city of Galax has taken over the Rex, but volunteers have been a key to the theater's survival, according to Nelson.

"The city owns and runs the theater, but it's the volunteers who helped save it," Nelson said. "They really do an outstanding job. That's a real plus for us."

Every Saturday morning, the Downtown Cinema Theatre in Mount Airy comes alive with music.

Outside the theater, starting around 9 a.m., musicians gather with their instruments and start jam sessions of bluegrass, country, gospel and folk music. Some folks stay outside and listen or join in, while others venture into the theater for the weekly free radio show that runs from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Merry-Go-Round, which is broadcast on WPAQ 740-AM, is the second longest-running live radio music show in the country, behind only the Grand Ole Opry
. For 61 years, The Merry-Go-Round has provided live music every Saturday morning, even on holidays. The show started out at the Pick Theatre, then moved to the studios of WPAQ. The show moved into the recently renovated Downtown Cinema Theatre for its 50th anniversary in 1997, and has remained there since.

Shortly before 11 a.m. one recent Saturday morning, about 50 people were sitting in the theater watching as the Mountain Ivy Band tuned their instruments and prepared for that morning's show. By the time the "On the Air" sign lit up, the number in the crowd had swelled to more than 100.

"The crowd ebbs and flows all Saturday morning," said Ken White, the theater manager, as he worked the soundboard at the back of the theater during a recent production of The Merry-Go-Round.

"There is a noticeable difference around the time Snappy Lunch is getting ready to close (at 1:15 p.m. on Saturdays)," he added, referring to the much-loved local restaurant that is right across the street from the theater.

The main floor of the theater has 256 seats; the balcony has an additional 182.

White, 46, is a Mount Airy native, and has early memories of the theater he now manages.

"It's the first place I can remember momma and daddy taking me out in public," he said. "I was about 5." The movie that momentous day was the animated Disney film The Jungle Book.

He has been the manager of the theater since it re-opened, and has no plans of stopping. "I still don't know what I want to be when I grow up," he said, "but I'm having a good time now."

The Downtown Cinema Theatre still plays movies six nights most weeks, with ticket prices of $3. On the third Saturday night each month, it also holds a concert series with the Carolina Travelers and guest bands for $7. The Saturday morning events are free.

The theater was built in 1938, and in 1939 was the site of a premiere of
Gone With the Wind held simultaneously with the world-premiere screening in Atlanta. The theater outlasted most other theaters in Mount Airy, until it closed in 1985. In 1990, it was donated to the Surry Arts Council, which decided to renovate it.

"I was part of the crew that ran out the first pigeons in 1990," White recalled. Before they decided to renovate, they considered gutting the old theater and putting the building to some other use. "I still cringe at what almost was," White said.

"We had to put a new roof on it," said Tanya B. Jones, the executive director of the Surry Arts Council. "We took out the curtains, carpeting and seats, and put in a retractable screen."

At the time, she said, "that entire end of town was suffering. There were a lot of closed shops."

The Arts Council re-opened the theater as a second-run movie theater in 1994, and added musical acts over the years.

"It is a project of passion, and not a profit center for the Surry Arts Council," Jones said, "but we manage to make it work. It's an enormous community service, and a wonderful opportunity to promote our musical heritage."

Musical heritage is also an important factor for the Rex. "There's a big following of (bluegrass) in this area," Nelson said. "We have the big fiddler's convention held here every year, so that's a draw."

Another appeal for the theaters, according to White, is that music can be more fun to watch as part of an audience. "Music is intensely personal," he said, "but it's also a communal experience."