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Spfld. Plaza theaters to re-open May 19

By G. Michael Dobbs

Managing Editor



SPRINGFIELD Theater owner Bill Hanney believes he will succeed where three other theater chains failed.

Hanney's company, Entertainment Cinemas, will re-open on May 19 the theater complex at Springfield Plaza that was most recently operated by the Marquee theater chain.

Previous to Marquee, Regal and Megastar had operated the theater.

The Springfield theater will be the tenth cinema his company operates and Hanney, a Cape Cod resident, plans to be fairly hands-on.

In an industry dominated by large corporations, Hanney is a vanishing breed a showman. He told Reminder Publications he would never own a theater that he couldn't drive to. He currently owns theaters in Edgartown, South Dennis, Leominster and Cambridge; Concord and Lebanon, NH; Bloomfield and Seymour, Conn.; and South Kingstown, RI.

Hanney's plan for success is feature a mix of mainstream and art house movies shown at prices substantially lower than his competition. Adult admission will be $7.75 and children and seniors will be $4.75. There will be "Bargain Tuesdays" with all seats at $4.75 for all performances and matinee shows every day before 6 p.m. will also be $4.75.

If the push-back in pricing is rare in an industry with rising ticket costs, Hanney's other move is also counter to industry standards he's putting real melted butter on the popcorn. He admits that move is costly to him, but he believes that audiences will appreciate the difference,

Hanney has signed a 40-year lease on the theater and has re-hired many of the former staff.

Hanney is no stranger to Springfield. He started his career in show business at age 19 when the movie-struck youth leased a theater in Fitchburg. That 1,700-seat theater led to Hanney booking rock shows. The success of the concerts convinced him to consider booking other kinds of live entertainment and eventually he began booking and producing productions of Broadway shows. He brought shows into Springfield's Symphony Hall in the early 1980s.

He left that aspect of show business and concentrated on movie theaters. In 1995, he opened an Entertainment Cinema on Wilbraham Road near Western New England College. He later sold the theater to National Amusements, the company operates the Showcase Cinemas in this area.

He will be facing Showcase Cinemas in this market once again, but he believes that audiences will respond to a multi-plex theater run with a personal touch and featuring much lower prices than his competition.