Love is crazy could be an admonition from a Valentine's Day Scrooge.
Turn it around to "Crazy Love" and you have the opening production of the reborn Old Town Theater.
After nearly a year of false starts and missed target dates, the Old Town Theater at 815 and a half King Street will again welcome patrons on Feb. 14. And the initial live show is fittingly a tribute to, what else, love and marriage.
"We have run this show in our Tulsa theater for the last 18 months. So far about 30,000 people have seen it. And the divorce rate in Tulsa has dropped six percent since it opened," Mark W. Anderson, the historic theater's new entrepreneur, said.
One of the founders of Washington's Improv Theater on Connecticut Avenue, Anderson plans to have only four shows a week in his Alexandria showplace. They will be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, plus eventually, a Saturday matinee.
"We are going to operate on the Southwest Airline format of doing business. It will all be general admission with open seating. The capacity will be kept to about 400 seats," Anderson said. "Show time is 8 p.m. for evening performances and 3 p.m. for the matinee."
Prices for the one and a half hour show will range from $15 for Thursday night and Saturday matinee to $17 for Friday and Saturday nights. The original cast of "Crazy Love" will be performing in Alexandria, according to Anderson.
A three person comedy with music, the show visits the human condition of love and marriage. The poster advertising the production gives a hint of its message. Depicting a couple locked in each other's arms, he is thinking, "She thinks I'm perfect" while she muses, "I can change him."
Anderson, a psychologist in his other life, fulfills that role in the show. In referencing the drop in the Tulsa, OK, divorce rate since "Crazy Love" opened, Anderson said, "It's the only pro marriage event in Tulsa that one might associate with this phenomenon."
He went on to explain that, "Contrary to popular opinion, with it being in the bible belt, Oklahoma has one of the highest divorce rates in the country. And Tulsa is at the top in Oklahoma. It seems easterners have marriage down better than us."
The male lead, John Branyan, who wrote two thirds of play, has been married for 15 years and has four children. "The most hilarious things in the show are right out of his life," Anderson explained.
REFURBISHED
One of the most unusual aspects of the refurbished theater patrons will notice is the carpet. It is deep navy blue with multicolor confetti specks that glow in the dark under black lighting.
"The black light effect was a pure coincidence," Anderson said. "We bought the carpet in Tulsa because we thought it was festive and then discovered, by accident, that it glowed under black light. The real benefit is it allows people to come and go without needing the house lights."
Anderson emphasized, "We tried as much as possible to return everything in this theater to its original status." The stage is back to its original depth and the balcony to its previous configuration. Both had been altered to transform the theater into a dual movie screen venue.
Originally, Anderson had planned to offer both live stage shows and classic films. But as the renovations progressed it became obvious both the screen and projection equipment were unusable, according to Travis Hendricks, who works with Anderson.
In addition to their theater interests, Anderson and Hendricks do prison seminars on the subjects of addiction, depression and stress. Hendricks emphasized, however, "I am primarily involved in the prison end of things."
Along with the new carpet is new seating, a completely refurbished interior, new lighting, and a revitalized concession stand in the lobby. "The popcorn will be freshly made. None of that bagged stuff," Anderson insisted.
After an initial shakedown cruise with "Crazy Love," Anderson plans to bring in other shows, both stage productions and personalized live entertainment. His long-range goal is to be open seven nights a week "with some sort of entertainment."
But he emphasized, "We don't want to compete with ongoing live entertainment establishments such as the Birchmere or Improv. We hope to be a place where new talent can perform. Our main business will remain the weekend nights."
One of the challenges Anderson faced in reopening the theater was parking. Much of what was available when it closed has since been lost to development.
He has made arrangements with the Alexandria Chapter of the American Red Cross for patrons to park in their facility at 123 N. Alfred St. for $3 which is one dollar off the regular evening rate. The theater will pick up the extra cost.
He is attempting to establish similar arrangements in other locations. "Our ultimate goal is pay for all parking. But first we have to get a feel for a long term commitment," he said.
Anderson has a long term lease on the theater from the James Pedas Trust.
In addition to his Tulsa, Okla. theater and the Washington, D.C., Improv, Anderson operates comedy stages in Phoenix and Dallas. Through word of mouth and the success of the repertoire, Tulsa's "Wonderama," as that theater is known, sells more than 1,000 tickets per weekend. At its opening only eight people occupied the 400 seats.
The Old Town Theater first opened in 1914 as the Richmond Theater. Now, eighty-eight years later it is about to undergo another reincarnation, just in time for Valentine's Day.