Behind Regent bulding owner Gary Adelson is a rendering of the theater’s new interior.
Looking back 100 years, the Regent Theatre is looking ahead, too.
An estimated 200 people, some in World War I-period dress, helped the Medford Street showplace celebrate its first century Sunday, April 24, while the building’s owner flew in from Canada to announce a plan to raise money to give the theater’s interior a facelift.
Gary Adelson, of Vancouver, B.C., said a grand public raffle would raise money to help pay for a new ceiling that would expose the proscenium arch over the stage. Adelson said he and his wife are contributing $10,000.
Some sweet shots >>
Winners of the raffle, whose details have yet to be worked out, would get an all-expenses-paid stay in a swanky Las Vegas hotel.
Applause greeted Adelson’s announcement, as co-owners Leland Stein and Rick Stavros gazed at an architect’s rendering projected on the screen showing what a new Regent interior might look like.
The intriguing announcement was sandwiched between vaudeville variety and a showing of “Rags,” the 1915 silent film starring Mary Pickford that opened the Regent in 1916.
For the most part, in a tug and pull between Arlington now and then, the past won out. Follow this mosaic of impressions:
Model T on Medford
Out front at 6:45 p.m., a 1916 Model T Ford was parked (illegally) for photo ops. As people lined up to get in, some dressed the part in Edwardian regalia. Some women turned out in hats that overflowed with flora.
Stavros, firmly filling out a tux, shook hands with well-wishers.
In the jammed lobby, Stein vamped in tan garb topped with, well, a top hat. Jordan Rich, the WBZ radio personality and the night’s emcee, said the headpiece reminded him of Willy Wonka, of Chocolate factory fame.
Selectmen Joe Curro returned to a bygone era by sporting a monocle.
In the theater’s dim sanctum, Marie Krepelka, the selectmen’s administrator, known as “the mayor of Arlington, chatted on a platform, set aside with those needing more legroom. In the middle section, Richard Duffy, the town’s unofficial historian, looked dapper and ready to imbibe a period he knows well.
Near the front sat Larry Katz, a music writer and friend from the days my wife and I worked at the Boston Herald. The night was made for such a welcome blast from the past. You can see what Larry is up to these days >>
Leland through the years
Before the 7:14 p.m. start, a loop of images cycled on the big screen: Some showed Leland through the years (well, since he arrived in 2001) with various famed folks, including local TV legend Rex Trailer at Herb Reed’s 2012 funeral, held at the Regent.
As the audience found seats, old Regent shots flipped by, including one from the summer of 1963. “Downtown” Arlington looked immune to the events that led to Dr. King’s March on Washington that August.
Then a shot of the Ultrasonic Rock Orchestra (URO), the Regent’s “house band.”
The rich pipes of Jordan opened the show when about 200 had assembled. He said the audience looked like a casting call for the U.S. version of “Downton Abbey.”
Regent in the 1920s
He introduced what he said were the kind of acts you would have seen 100 years back, much of them vaudevillian. No one there was old enough to verify his claim, but someone came close: Mary Sweeney was in the house, and she had first attended the Regent in the 1920s.
Stein announced two bits of news, previously reported by YourArlington:
— Launch of the Friends of the Regent Theatre. Membership allows nonprofits that use the theater to carve out a period dedicated to their shows, allowing them to be eligible for grants. Such nonprofits might include longtime Regent faithfuls Arlington Catholic theater, Arlington Children’s Theatre, Legacy Dance Company and Boston Children’s Theatre.
— In addition, Kid Care After School, a program of the Arlington Recreation Department, has developed a performing-arts program that will become a resident company of the Regent, S. Leigh Hampton, who is leading the effort, has said. Along with ACMi the public-access station, the three organizations will produce live theater and television programs for broadcast.
Among established connections, Stein noted restaurant partners Tango, Not Your Average Joe’s, flora and Menotomy Grill, whose owner, Billy Lyons, was present.
He also recognized in the audience entertainer Ben Rudnick, musician Ilana Katz Katz and rocker Sal Clemente of URO.
But Stein “forgot” to name one — and Tony V, leaped from the audience to the stage to remind us of his comedic style: a rough edge where his dad’s age at 92 is no reason to discount discussion of death, or plumb it for humor.
A few reviews
The evening’s bill? We sat back and marveled at the enjoyable and slunk in our seats for the less engaging. Some quick reviews (YMMV):
— “Musical Chairs” via Ryan P. Casey & Dancers was a leggy diversion.
— The Aireborne Comedians turned juggling into a humorous, unlikely art.
— Jerry Bizantz reached for Groucho Marx (“Samovar the lawyer” became samo-vah the lawyah) and didn’t quite grip the character.
— Chloe Walier tip-toed in golden high-heels on champagne bottles with curvaceous grace.
— Alex the Jester was simply incredible as he tootled “Greensleeves” and “Frère Jacques” on as many as three recorders, all stuffed in his mug.
— Busty Keaton shook until she turned a strip show into a burlesque of burlesque.
— Bob the Magic Guy, with his lovely partner, did a joking mock escape with George and Vicki from the audience.
— After the break came “Rags.” Watching this antique tells us how we experience movies has changed. Then, actors presented themselves in stylized ways to overcome the lack of sound. Lips moved, saying much more than the fancy-font subtitles. Lips curled, eyes widened to comic extents. The musical accompaniment helped then, as it did at the Regent’s gala. Playing what sounded like a digital organ, Jeff Rapsis demonstrated his mastery at interpreting the on-screen drama.
Well done, Jeff — and to all involved.
This news story followed by personal impressions was published Tuesday, April 26, 2016.
