Cover Story

By Kevin Lee Associate Editor

Mobile is no stranger to theatre of most every manner.

In the Port City’s Golden Age of the early Nineteenth Century, the lucre and seasonal flow of the cotton trade dominated all. The town’s ranks swelled in winter and those visitors craved entertainment, so performing arts answered the call.

You can still see evidence Mobile’s early parlor society orbited literary arts and theatrical performance. The Joe Jefferson Players are the longest continuously existing troupe in the state.

Time and technology ensued. There was an explosion of theatres on Dauphin Street between 1907 and World War I, most being storefront nickelodeons that changed names frequently.

Over time, some stalwarts arose from the clamor.

The Mobile Theatre on Royal Street was the first anchor in Ludlow and Smith’s famed Mobile-New Orleans-St. Louis circuit, playing host to both high and low stagecraft.

The Lyric Theatre was erected on the southwest corner of the intersection of Joachim and Conti at the turn of the century. Originally constructed as a vaudeville house, it bridged the stage and film eras in Mobile. It was demolished in 1950 to make room for a parking lot.

The ornate exterior of Dauphin Street’s Crown Theatre bedazzled onlookers and entrants alike upon its completion in the silent film era. When downtown fell on harder times, it transmuted into the seedier Midtown Theater, a home for classic X-rated films. It now houses a nightclub.

The Saenger Theatre is a rare jewel. Built in 1927 by the Saenger brothers, it’s a cornerstone of downtown revitalization and paean to Jazz Age opulence. It was also one of the first air-conditioned buildings not only in the city but in the region. The Saenger has hosted thousands of films over the decades in addition to operas, plays, symphonic performances, awards ceremonies and any Mobile event requiring regality.

All told, the list of Mobile theaters opened since 1899 reveals almost 100 names, including five drive-ins, two Bijous, two Roosevelts and a Roxy.

Yet, the prototypical arthouse theater is mostly unknown in Mobile.

The Saenger has hosted experimental forays such as Halloween screenings of classic silent-era horror films with live soundtracks provided by local progressive band Analog Missionary.

The Scottish Rites Temple on Claiborne conducted a similar project in the fall of 2007 with the silent classic “Metropolis” and music from The Western Lands.

The multi-plex in Springdale Mall was retooled in 2003 with a nod to arthouse and “indie” works that were exploding in popularity around the nation. The experiment suffered from lackluster ticket sales and turned to value-oriented, second-run films before closing for good less than two years later.

The Jewish Film Festival has exposed Mobile audiences to lesser-known foreign works for the last eight years. The three-day event takes place at the multi-plex near Hank Aaron Stadium each November.

Berneim Hall in the main branch of the Mobile Public Library has played host to not only classic film series but recently became the local stop for the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, a collection of lower budget yet thoughtful works that tours over 30 communities through the region.

Now, new players have emerged that promise to bridge the remaining gap in order to supply the Azalea City with its first true and permanent arthouse theater.

Home at last

“We took one look at what was going on here in Mobile and we had to get in on it,” said Max Morey, owner of the Crescent Theatre project underway in downtown. Morey and his partner, Pensacola-native John Switzer of the Lamar Advertising clan, have been hard at work on the most public of a string of renovation projects in downtown Mobile.

They previously developed condominiums at 501 Dauphin Street in 2002 and residences on Bayou Street in 2006.

The pair told Lagniappe’s Sharman Egan in August of 2007 that they were seeking to develop other properties on the block of Government between Bayou and Scott, including a Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired residence unique to Mobile.

However, the showplace underway at 208 Dauphin Street is returning to its roots. The Crescent Theatre sprang up in 1885 at 208 Dauphin Street as a home to vaudeville shows before being converted for film after World War I.

It eventually became a restaurant before a fire destroyed both the eatery and an adjoining bar in 2004.

The developers are eager to implement both sites.

“You’ll come into one lobby and go either left or right,” Switzer said. “To the left will be a theater capable of hosting a variety of events, live and otherwise.”

“It’s going to be huge, massive,” Morey said. “We’ll have a stage, everything you’ll need for presentations and cultural events, open mic nights, music, maybe bring in some touring things. And we’re going to have all the latest in digital technology so we can do special events like simulcast concerts and sports.”

Morey, who moved to the Gulf Coast from Ventura, Cal. said the venue will contain150-175 seats, elevated booths and plush seating. The present goal for opening that section is late 2009.

To the right of the lobby will be the 125-seat film theater. Morey describes the accommodations as harkening back to cinema’s heyday, with vintage-style draperies and spacious velvet seating. “We’ll have extra inches for more comfort,” he quipped.

One other feature will be a throwback as well.

“Our electrician has emphatically stated he wants the usher job,” Morey said. “He said he wants to wear the little purple vest and monkey hat and have a metal flashlight. The guy is 6-foot-4 so I just said, ‘Jay, the job is yours.’”

“We’ve also contacted a woman whose father operated this theater for years,” he continued, “and we have several of her photos she’s given to us that we’ll use in here.”

The marquee is set to proclaim the smaller films that to date have eluded Mobile.

“We want to go with independent stuff,” Morey said. “Our research has told us people here are looking for well-made, intelligent films and we want to give them that.”

The men revealed a strong desire to host the local screening of Margaret Brown’s notorious “The Order of Myths,” a recently released documentary studying the socio-economic subtext of Mobile Mardi Gras. Screenings of the work at the Sundance Film Festival and South by Southwest festival weekend in Austin, Texas generated notable buzz. Brown’s work has yet to premiere in Mobile. Morey and Switzer feel the film and the expected weeks of packed houses it would generate could set the Crescent on firm ground.

For now, Morey said the completion goal for the cinema is early June.

The two stories above the theater will contain nearly 3,000-square foot, luxurious condominiums boasting not only balconies with stellar views of the Mobile skyline and downtown district, but price tags on the upper end of this market. The units will also feature generous sound baffling between the downstairs venues and the residential quarters.

Those seeking to indulge in a christening of the cinema can take part in history during the Arts Alive festival, April 11-13. Festival organizers are planning a nod to the theater’s previous era with screenings of Laurel and Hardy classics on a wall of the room-in-progress.

For now, the main room is a shell of its concept. Bare aluminum studs shine in a darkened area littered with the detritus and materials of a typical construction area.

“We just passed our inspections and we’ll be hanging sheetrock as quickly as possible,” Morey said. “We’ll make it.”

For now, the men have a firm eye on the future and the vagaries of the market. Once open, the Crescent will feature the usual movie fare of refreshments with an adult twist.

“We already have our alcohol license,” Switzer said. “We’ve already got that out of the way.”

The developers also reveal a creative bent for marketing.

“I bought 100 extra movie seats and mounted them on 2-by-4s,” Morey said. “We’ll have a drawing and give them away every Saturday night for a year. Patrons can go home with their own theater seat. It’ll also give us a mailing list to work from.”

The pair of developers met in a Biloxi casino almost a decade ago and a friendship formed quickly. Switzer and Morey share a background in the U.S. Navy and also an urge to continue a service-oriented ideal.

“Our tickets prices are going to be less than standard at the multi-plexes,” Morey said. “We’re not just looking to make money on this, we want to give back to the community.”

Kevin Lee is Lagniappe associate editor. Contact him at klee@lagniappemobile.com.

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