Shadowland Theatre: Judd Hirsch in Art, by Yasmina Rez
by Jay Blotcher
Remember the Royal Theater — the large, crumbling Texas movie house in Peter Bogdonavich’s classic film The Last Picture Show? As a symbol for sorrowful, inevitable endings and the erosion of a way of life, that building was a humdinger. Likewise, if you’re discussing optimistic new beginnings, you’d be hard–pressed to find a more apt symbol than Shadowland Theatre. A 1920 Art Deco cinema and vaudeville house that has been restored to a breathtaking sleekness, it radiates a stubborn pride in the still–struggling town of Ellenville.
Brendan Burke, stalwart paterfamilias and anxious mother hen of Shadowland, admits that it’s tough to keep dreams alive on a modest budget — especially in an era when people are more likely to choose Xboxes, iPods or Blu–Rays as their preferred entertainment.
But as a longtime actor and director, he remains a stubborn, wistful keeper of the faith. For the fourth season, Burke will lure acolytes to his temple with a shrewd combination of genial shows for the senior citizens over the border in Sullivan County and tougher material for younger people who usually attend Manhattan dramas, hoping to be unmoored.
There are numerous ways to measure the success of his enterprise, the candid Burke admits. One could point crassly at the bottom line: The Shadowland budget has bloomed from $250,000 to $315,000 since he arrived. But Burke knows that success is a relative term when one speaks of “the reality of producing on a small budget in a small rural town,” he said.
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