STURBRIDGE — After more than three years' absence, New England entertainment mogul Bill Hanney is bringing the big-screen movie experience back to Sturbridge.
Sturbridge Luxury Cinemas, a "dine in" theater with luxury seating and eight big screens, will take over the space once occupied by the 1,210-capacity Sturbridge Cinemagic Stadium Theaters at the Center at Hobbs Brook shopping district on Charlton Road (Route 20), which opened in the summer of 2012 and closed in early 2021.
“The front of the (Cinemagic) theater is still there,” Hanney said. “Cinemagic is about to become more magical.”
Hanney said he’s been a movie lover since he was 14, when he was working at a local movie house for free posters.
“‘Doctor Zhivago,’ ‘Gone with the Wind,’ ‘The Sound of Music,' ‘Lawrence of Arabia,” I could on for an hour,” Hanney said as he started to rattle off some of his favorite movies. “There’s nothing like a big screen. I don’t care if you have a big 77-inch screen TV, it’s not the same.”
Hanney, who owns North Shore Music Theater in Beverly and Theatre by the Sea in Rhode Island, hopes to open Sturbridge Luxury Theater sometime in late September or early October.
“Theatre by the Sea, our theme is ‘a great night out,’” Hanney said. “And that’s what we want people to have. Because, you know what, in today’s day and age and all the (expletive) that is going on, you just need a great night out.”
Hanney said the plan is for the theater to include a full kitchen, soon after it opens.
“When you’re sitting there, a waitress will come to your chair with a table and take your order for whatever food we can whip up in the kitchen,” Hanney said. “I have a theater in Falmouth, Mass., that is doing that right now and they are doing gangbusters, because people love that.”
Another casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Sturbridge Cinemagic wasn’t a bad movie theater when it closed, Hanney said, but he pledges it’s going to be a much better one when the Sturbridge Luxury Cinemas opens.
“It’s a nice theater as we speak. We’re making it a little bit nicer. It was a stadium theater with regular chairs. We reinvented it with the big, luxury chairs. We reduced the capacity of this theater to almost 60 percent, because these seats are so big when you press the button, you’re actually laying down almost flat while watching the movie,” Hanney said. “It’s comfortable. It’s classy. It’s elegant. The lobby will be beautiful. Big screen, big sound, laser, all this good stuff to go along with your movie experience. Plus, you can get an amazing cheeseburger, French fries, with a vodka and Coke.”
As president of Broadway Productions, Hanney is the man responsible for bringing national tours of such beloved Broadway shows including “Annie” and “A Chorus Line” to the old E.M. Loew’s Theater, now the Palladium, in Worcester. He is also the co-producer of last year’s Broadway hit “The Shark is Broken” with Ian Shaw, the son of "Jaws" co-star Robert Shaw, as well as the operator of six movie complexes in New England, including Entertainment Cinemas in Leominster.
As for tickets, Hanney said he expects prices to comparable if not lower than any chain movie theater in the area.
“If the movie tickets are less expensive, people can afford to buy more stuff with it. And we want families there. We want you to be able to bring your kids there,” Hanney said. “In my world of entertainment, that’s all I care about. People’s enjoyment.”
And Hanney said the Town of Sturbridge has been terrific.
“I have never been treated so nicely from a town that is so excited for having their theater reopened,” Hanney said. “They gave us our building permit, once they read the plans, in record time. And this speaks a lot of this town. … They’re so excited that this is happening. It makes you feel good about doing it.”
Although he will be running an eight-screen, first-run theater in Sturbridge, Hanney said he's a big fan of Fathom Events, which brings classic films, such as “Lawrence of Arabia,” Alfred Hitchcock’s “Rear Window” and Mel Brooks’ “Blazing Saddles” back on the big screen.
“It’s eight screens! Not everything is ‘Deadpool,’" Hanney said. “We intend to make this the place to go to enjoy a night out.”
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Bill Hanney plans to reopen Sturbridge movie theater with 'luxury' twist
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