Forget Broadway! This winter it's Sag Harbor for your entertainment needs

With a record 13 Broadway shows slated to close this month either due to bad economics or a coincidence of timing (nine went dark last weekend alone), many in the industry in New York City have reason to be nervous. 

Given the sheer number of major productions exiting stage left, it may just be that those looking for a good show or two this winter will find the best place to be is not on the Great White Way, but right here in Sag Harbor where the Bay Street Theatre will be anything but dark.

The staff at Bay Street has come up with a full slate of events to keep the public coming through the door in what have typically been the quietest months on the East End. 

Billed as an “Economy-Buster” line-up, the programming includes movies, music, a kid’s camp and more.

“We’re recognizing a lot of people can’t afford to get away this year,” says the theatre’s general manager Tracy Mitchell. “Maybe weekenders will be using their homes more, If people are around and have nothing to do, we’ll keep the theatre open.”

The 2009 offerings begin this weekend with the return of The Picture Show at Bay Street — two nights of films starring the King himself, Elvis Presley. “Love Me Tender” will be shown at 8 p.m. on Friday, January 9, followed by “Roustabout” at the same time on Saturday, January 10.

Also, buoyed by the success of a pre-Christmas sing-along with pianist Brenda Landrum and Broadway Irish tenor Ciaran Sheehan, Bay Street is continuing music into the new year with a cabaret and piano bar series that begins February 14. The music will start at 10 p.m. on Friday and Saturday nights, after the films end. And having broadcasted the presidential debates and election night returns this past fall, on Tuesday, January 20, the theatre opens its doors at 10 a.m. so residents can come watch the inauguration pomp and circumstance on the big screen. 

New for parents this winter is a kids theatre camp for ages 5 to 18 which will be offered during the winter break week. Bay Street also plans to offer children’s film matinees on Saturdays in the coming months.

While the folks at Bay Street would no doubt like to take credit for seeing this latest “Broadway hit” coming, in fact it wasn’t any special foresight that led them to come up with a off-season programming, but rather, a simple desire to develop a greater connection with the community. It’s quite a change from Bay Street’s early days when the theatre shut down completely from January to March.

“You have to be more diverse,” notes managing director, producer and film series founder Gary Hygom. “You have to be a theatre that operates on the shoulder season.”

“We’re making a push to be a bigger part of the community,” adds Mitchell. “We’re making sure we’re listening to the audience.”

“And being more assessable,” chimes in Julie Fitzgerald, managing director and head of development. “Bay Street always was a community gathering place. People said, ‘We think of it as a place to go with friends and make it a whole package.’”

Bay Street’s Picture Show series is a good example of how that is happening. The idea began a few years ago as a way to present classic movies in a decidedly old-fashioned way — on the big screen with a room full of fellow film lovers.

“Our first season we were thrilled if we had 20 people for a film,” says Hygom, who credits BookHampton for underwriting the series. “The film series has been steadily growing. Last year, our average was 70 per screening. It’s really picked up substantially.”

What has also boosted the series’ success is a popular three course $25 prix fixe dinner offered by The American Hotel prior to each screening. The deal includes a ticket to the movie, and more often than not, when the lights dim and the opening titles flicker on screen, hotel proprietor and film fan Ted Conklin can be found sitting in the front row.

“The one thing I’m hoping happens — and I think we’re beginning to see that — is it becomes a meeting place for people,” says Hygom. “They see the same people at the films and start to make friendships.”

Another goal is to attract patrons who have never been to Bay Street before. These are people who may decide to return for a play or a night of comedy in the summer.

“It still never ceases to amaze me how many new people find their way into the theatre in the off season,” says Fitzgerald. “There are people every single night we have a movie who have never been here before.”

“Opening the doors for events like that brought in a new crowd,” says Hygom.

The theatre has also opened up as a rental venue, including for benefits and film screenings, which has further expanded the number of new people coming through the door. 

Fitzgerald notes she would love to see the Sag Harbor Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors Santa’s visit to the theatre each December, use the space for more of its events. 

So though Broadway is feeling the pinch of troubled times, the Bay Street staff is hopeful their efforts now will result in an upswing in attendance when the mainstage production season begins again in May.

“We use the same talent and the same designer pool [as Broadway],” notes Hygom. “Hopefully we will reach further up island and people will start going here instead of to Broadway and focus on regional theatre.”

“We try to bring Broadway into your backyard,” adds Fitzgerald. “But instead of $125 a ticket like on Broadway, you can buy a whole series of tickets for $150.”

Above: Bay Street Theatre’s Julie Fitzgerald, Gary Hygom and Tracy Mitchell in front of a big screen vision of Elvis Presley in “Roustabout” this Saturday’s film at the Picture Show at Bay Street.