Concert for the century

Regent Theatre celebrates its hundredth birthday in local style

Miss Emily Fennell sings at the Regent Theatre during its 100th birthday concert.

The Regent stage was rocking with local talent as the Monarch on Main celebrated its hundredth birthday on Friday. The theatre opened on November 2, 1918 and has seen its fortunes ebb and flow through the past one hundred years. The opening night’s performance— for which admission was the special price of 25 cents—is lost in the mists of time, but the movies subsequently shown features artists such as Douglas Fairbanks, Charlie Chaplin and Canada’s sweetheart Mary Pickford. In 1922, owners George and Ellen Cook commissioned a redesign that converted the theatre into an opera house that had a capacity of 1,100 and a stage rivalling the best in Toronto. There were further changes through the years, with the now-iconic marquee being added in the 1940s. Fate was less kind to the theatre during the ’60s and ’70s, and it was only periodically opened. The Regent Theatre Foundation was formed in 1982 with the mandate of keeping the theatre running, but high costs and low attendance forced Louise Cook, daughter of George and Ellen, to close the theatre in 1984. The theatre was revitalized in 1994 after being purchased by the Foundation, with substantial financial support from a then anonymous benefactor, who was later identified as Edna Gordon. With continued upgrades over the following two decades, the theatre is now fully accessible and uses a modern digital projector for movies.

The admission for last Friday’s birthday bash was $19.18, as a nod to the theatre’s founding year, and the event was headlined by Milford native Miss Emily Fennell, who is now based in Kingston.

Miss Emily is a regular performer at the Ottawa Bluesfest, and in 2011 she opened a concert for The Tragically Hip in Bobcaygeon in front of an audience of 25,000. Neil Shorthouse, general manager of the Regent Theatre, had been considering holding an event for the theatre’s anniversary, and Miss Emily had a fortuitous break in her busy performing schedule. “We were looking for the right fit for this show,” said Shorthouse. “It just kind of clicked only a matter of a couple of weeks ago. Emily did a fantastic job helping us promote the show.” It was important for both Shorthouse and Miss Emily to feature local entertainers. Performing on-stage with Miss Emily were country duo Instant Rivalry, young performer Siobhan Bodrug and songwriter and storyteller Suzanne Pasternak. “There is an important reason to keep this theatre running and that is we have this as a local stage for local artists who aspire to perform, and that’s what tonight is all about,” said Shorthouse. For Miss Emily, the inclusion of Pasternak was a natural one. Pasternak was Miss Emily’s mentor, and had her performing on stage at a very young age. Not only that, but they performed together in Pasternak’s folk opera Minerva on the Regent stage when the theatre reopened in 1994 after being shuttered for nearly a decade.

Ben Vandergaast plays the guitar.

Both Shorthouse and Miss Emily were pleasantly surprised at the size of the audience who came out to celebrate the theatre’s special birthday. “It’s important that we keep events like this going,” said Shorthouse. “A crowd like tonight not only buys the tickets, but they are very strong in the food and beverage revenue. So we try and program events that bring that ancillary revenue.” The Regent has had a rough ride recently, with a few seasons of continual losses. But Shorthouse has overseen a change in fortunes. “Job one was to stabilize the business. I’m working on it, and maybe I’m not there yet, and part of it is to get the programming mix right. It’s bringing in the right type of entertainment and working on a lot of partnerships—Festival Players, Comedy Country, the Jazz Festival. That’s been the key to our success over the last year.”

However, he is quick to point out that the real success story lies in the support the theatre receives from the community. “Our volunteers are incredibly important,” he said. “You need an awful lot of full-time employee equivalents to run the theatre, so they do everything for us—greet the customers, sell the popcorn. With the sponsorship committee, for example, going out and raising $80,000. This theatre wouldn’t survive without them. They raise about a third of our budget. The work they do is immeasurably important.” The theatre has only two full-time and six part-time employees, and there are well over 100 volunteers whose combined efforts total up to thousands of hours each year. It has an operating budget of about $350,000, most of which comes from ticket and concession stand sales. The theatre receives a municipal grant and is also supported by about 70 local community business sponsors. Shorthouse is looking to broaden the scope that the Regent offers. “Where I see the greatest change is in the live-event mix, in particular live theatre. We’ve brought a few promoters into the mix, and we’re booked into a network of theatres across Ontario, so it gives access to artists we otherwise wouldn’t have an opportunity to get.” The Monarch on Main is entering its second century with a confident stride.