MATUNUCK – “Curtain going up!” For three years, the lights had been dimmed, the costumes mothballed, the floorboard echoes silenced at Theatre-by-the-Sea.
For decades, the quaint, now-historic theater on Matunuck Schoolhouse Road attracted top stars from Hollywood and Broadway. Audiences flocked from all over Rhode Island and nearby states for the chance to see, up close and live, some of the biggest names in film and theatre.
Even in later decades, when casinos and big bucks made Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods the destination of choice for stars, Theatre-by-the-Sea mounted impressively diverse casts to perform in dramas, musicals, comedies, often starring locals as well as professionals. Saturdays found youngsters entertained by shows specially designed for children. Throughout the summer, patrons wandered the subtly-lit walkways leading to the Seahorse Grille & Bar, marveling at the dazzling profusion of flowers, all but dizzied by the scents.
It ended abruptly – though with a private party still talked about by workers, volunteers and friends of the theatre – in September, 2003.
Theatre-by-the-Sea was for sale, with an asking price of $5.9 million.
It wasn’t going to happen. Owner Laura Harris and her partner Renny Serre insisted they wanted the complex preserved as a theatre. But the price was too high; it could only be recouped by development of the property.
Nothing happened – at least publicly. Privately, theatre lovers with cash and knowhow attempted deals. They fell apart.
“It’ll never open again” was the gloomy prediction heard more and more frequently.
But it has. Last night and tonight are the preview performances of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, with opening night and a champagne reception slated for tomorrow night.
It’s the unlikely magic – some would say miracle – wrought by a young man who rode down the pike from his home in Massachusetts and sealed a deal on June 26, with a final sale price of $1.3 million. At 37, Bill Hanney is an unlikely – and wildly successful – entrepreneur. He never attended college, purchased his first cinema complex at the age of 19, and now owns ten of them.
“I’m good at this kind of stuff,” he said with a modest smile during a recent interview at the famed gazebo on the theatre’s side lawn. “I have a knack for it, to put things together, come up with a lot of money.”
But back in 2003, when Hanney first learned the property was on the market, the price was out of sight. Harris and Serre next sold a motel and inn where actors had stayed, and lowered the price somewhat. When it dropped to $1.7 million in February, Hanney was ready to negotiate.
What he knew was that he wanted the theatre. Badly.
What he didn’t know until the box office opened July 16 was how many people had longed for that day to come. “I had no inkling, initially. Not until people started telling me. The line went around the building and all the way back to the Seahorse,” Hanney gestured. “It was a hot day, and I passed out tons of free bottled water.
Some people cried. Countless wrung his hand or hugged him in gratitude.
Within days he made a decision: Theatre-by-the-Sea will become a non-profit corporation, and the paperwork is already in progress. Under the name Ocean State Theatre Company, Inc., the theatre can accept contributions from private donors, foundations, corporations, even government sources.
“I’ve really felt the outpouring of support,” Hanney said. “People say they want to make it last forever. Well, there’s a way to do that. Besides buying a ticket, people will be able to make donations. I’m thinking of doing a brick walk with names….that’s always successful.”
Against all odds, Hanney said, he’s able to mount one production – it will play until at least Aug. 26 – this summer. He credits Harris and Serre with “leaving everything in wonderful shape – the restaurant, the theatre, the infrastructure. Even the flowers,” he gestured. “I didn’t do these plantings. They maintained them.”
Proving how good he is at putting “stuff” together, Hanney was able to hire the cast of the original Broadway revival of Forum – “Nathan Lane’s run,” he explains. They’ll even be clad in original cast costumes.
Forum is “a great family show,” he says. “It’s good for everybody.”
Hanney envisions at least four offerings next year: “A classical, a small musical, a comedy and something that was recently on Broadway.” He is also committed to reviving the Saturday children’s programs enjoyed by generations.
His eyes glow as he says, “It’s so much fun being here. I love coming. I’m going to find a place to stay…
“I went to the beach the other night after dinner. It must have been 12 at night, and it was all foggy, with the waves crashing. It was amazing. There were three or four houses on the beach, black and dark and closed. And then the sky cleared and you felt like you could reach up for every star…”
Shrewd businessman Hanney may be; the poet lives on as well. And so does the family entertainment that had seemed destined to fade forever from the landscape.
For tickets, call the box office at (401)782-8587 or visit www.theatrebythesea.com
