It’s showtime, downtown Lexington: Historic Kentucky Theatre is coming back
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Kentucky Theatre turns 100
The Kentucky Theatre has survived fires, livestreaming and COVID, and now reemerges to face the next centennial.
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Curtain up, light the lights: A downtown entertainment venue is back. The Kentucky Theatre, which has been shuttered since Oct. 4, 2020, will officially reopen on Jan. 28.
The theater will begin with classic films for now until new equipment can arrive to play first-run features.
First up: “Paper Moon,” starring Ryan O’Neal and Tatum O’Neal, who won an Oscar. The first showing will be at 7:15 p.m.
The theater posted on its Facebook page that a series of eclectic films including “Sunset Boulevard,” “Harold and Maude,” “Sweet Sweetback,” “A Raisin in the Sun,” “Love & Basketball,” “In the Mood for Love” and more are planned.
Last September, Mayor Linda Gorton announced that a non-profit group called the Friends of the Kentucky Theatre had been selected to manage the city’s only independent theater. The city owns the historic building on Lexington’s downtown Main Street , which has housed the Kentucky for nearly 100 years.
The theater closed on its 98th birthday after ticket sales during the coronavirus pandemic had fallen sharply. But fans always hoped it would return.
Last fall, Lisa Meek, co-chair of the Friends, said the group hoped to reopen before the holidays but that the date could be pushed back if COVID cases were too high.
Meek said Tuesday that the first-run movies can resume when the projectors installed in 2012-2013 can be repaired. Parts are stuck in the supply chain, she said.
For now, they can run DVDs and Blu-rays in the main theater but not in the State Theatre next door, she said. At Christmas, the Kentucky showed some holiday movies that drew nice crowds with plenty of room to spread out, she said.
Fred Mills, aka “Mr. Kentucky,” will return to manage the theater under the group’s plan.
According to the theater’s web site, the staff and volunteers will be masked. Patrons also must wear masks except when seated and having popcorn, snacks and drinks. Ticket sales will be limited to 50 percent capacity for safety.
To celebrate the Kentucky’s approaching 100th anniversary, the theater is planning to screen a film from each decade a month through October.
Running classic films is nothing new for the theatre. Over the years the Kentucky’s Summer Classic series has been a popular movie event with familiar films and new classics since it began in 2003.
This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 1:56 PM.
