One of the state’s oldest theaters, the Melba Theater in Batesville, will reopen Friday, Aug. 12, with a grand opening following the restoration efforts of owners Janelle and Joe Shell and Mandi and Adam Curtwright.
Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the show will begin with announcements from the stage at 7 followed by a showing of “The Wizard of Oz”. The owners say they would like to see guests show up in black-tie, Hollywood-style attire, according to a news release. Tickets cost $50 and include a commemorative photo and gift bag.
There will also be an “Owl Show” for those who can’t make it to the first show as it conflicts with a concert that's part of the Cave City Watermelon Festival. Doors at the theater open at 9:30 p.m., and the late-night screening of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" commences at 10:30. Tickets are $25.
Tickets for both shows can be purchased at the main Citizens Bank branch and WRD Entertainment. Seating is limited.
The couples bought the theater and its assets for $117,000 in March 2015 with a goal of restoring it for $400,000-$600,000. The reopening was scheduled to have taken place at an earlier date but had to be rescheduled because of a delay in getting permission from theater companies to show the films.
Joe Shell said in the release that the reopening will be an “experience to remember,” the new slogan the theater has adopted.
Since the theater was closed last October, the seats have been refurbished, the floors have been repaired, and a new digital projector and Dolby surround sound system have been installed.
Janelle Shell told Arkansas Business last year that the theater would show all kinds of movies and concerts and would be available for groups to rent. Marshall Dry Goods and Babb’s Upholstery helped provide new seats and curtains.
Citizens Bank of Batesville announced in April at an open house and progress report on the theater project the creation of a $10 million redevelopment fund that will support the Impact Independence Strategic Plan. It is comprised of low-interest rate loans and grants.
The theater benefited from the low-interest financing and received a $5,000 grant. The money was used to help pay for the new digital projector that cost $65,000, according to a news release from the bank.
Phil Baldwin, Citizens Bank President and CEO, said in the release, “We know the Melba Theater’s Grand Opening will be a historic event. We’ve even offered to supply the giant spotlights to shine in the sky on that evening. We want everyone in the county to be aware and take note that amazing things are happening on Main Street.”
Citizens Bank has awarded other grants, too, including one to The Pinton, a new restaurant slated to open within the next few months that is adjacent to the theater.
The Batesville Downtown Foundation also agreed to take tax-deductible donations for the renovations.
The theater first opened in 1875 as an opera house. It was a mercantile store before it became the Melba Theater in 1940, and, according to Janelle Shell, it was one of the first Arkansas cinemas to feature a CinemaScope projector.
The theater closed in the 1990s, but was reopened later by Terry and Ramona Chandler, who kept it going as a second-run theater until it shut down last year.
Baldwin said in the release, "I am excited that Historic Downtown Batesville will now have the ability to combine the vibrancy of a college community and the ambiance of a small southern town. My hope is for Historic Downtown Batesville to come alive again and provide family friendly entertainment with diverse and eclectic shopping, dining, arts, cinema, music and pubs; to become residential again, with loft apartments above and shops below; to be a place for all generations to gather, walk, bike or talk — a people gathering place for all of Independence County.”