Madison Theatre: Possible Hope for the Movie Industry?

​By Kevin Conley II, Staff Writer

The year 2020 has been a devastating year for individuals who like to go out into the world to participate in activities, socialize with others, and continue their working lives outside of their homes– including the fact that the U.S. has been on high alert for the safety of people becoming infected by the virus and are required to wear a mask and washing hands more frequently. But one of the major locations that have been impacted as badly as any other place today is the movie theater. Movie theaters, like Regal Cinemas, have been closed ever since March. Even when Regal Cinemas attempted to reopen in mid-october, there was still no luck for movie theaters in the state of New York. This situation has made complaints from many people who like to go to the movies to have a better experience. But, thanks to a small movie theater down at 1036 Madison Avenue in Albany, there may be hope for movies afterall.

The movie theater is called The Madison Theater. It’s a half theater and half restaurant consisting of four auditoriums, a kitchen, and a full bar that’s open for anyone to come on down and have a good time. The Madison Theater hasn’t closed at all since COVID 19 started. “We redid this theater when we reopened in December, and when COVID hit and did the shutdown in March, we’ve only been open for three months.” Kris Keisling, the manager of the theater, said. “Because of the fact that movie theaters have been closed for so long prior, under construction and different people participating, we thought whatever we were gonna do, we were not gonna close those doors.”  Keilsing also said “we only did take out food and outdoor seating. We could do limited capacity inside, we opened it up with some entertainment like trivia, comedy, and music.”  “Then in October, they finally said we can play movies again, so we opened up the theater. So, we’ve kind of just rolled with whatever is available at that time, and the last thing we want to do is close the doors. We’ve been open the entire time, we’ve been playing movies the entire time.” Keilsing said.

In response to the impact on the coronavirus, Kielsing said that “it’s kind of the direction movies have been going in.” “The window between theatrical releases and video releases have shrunk over time, and this pandemic is just gonna push it over the limits. That was inevitable with what was going to happen. That’s kind of the new way things are done here.” Keilsing said. The Madison Theater traditionally releases new and old films over the course of two weeks, until they release another one, and every week they usually release two new films. Whether it’s a classic or not. During the week, Monday through Thursday, they release two sets of shows. So, every movie plays at 4 pm and 7 pm. On weekends, including Friday, they do a new 1 pm show, including the usual 4 and 7 pm showings. Everyday, they close at around 9 when all showings are finished. Despite the fact that these are limited showing times, movies will still be released so that anyone who lives around Albany can have the opportunity to see the movie people would like to see. But that’s not all, the theater does not only make new releases, including old retro films, there will also be other live events  like “I’ve got trivial” trivia night on Fridays nights, and Open Mic comedies on Wednesdays. They also do music, which is on pause for now until further notice.

As the Madison Theatre remains open for the time being, the theater also responded to the safety precautions that are required to ensure anyone’s safety from the pandemic. He said “the auditoriums are very small, so it’s not like we are surrounded by a ton of people. We are escorting people to the seats, everything is socially distanced.” “Obviously, we have tables between the rows, so you already have that distance.” He said. “But in terms of people on the same row, we make sure there are three to four seats between groups to make sure we have the proper distancing as well. We are about half the capacity in the auditoriums, 25% of the entire facility, and we haven’t had any problem with overcrowding at all.” He said. The theater has been preparing for the safety precautions that are ensured for any audience member that attends for a new or old movie release, or just to come over and have a good time. “You come in, choose one of the movies we have, we have servers that can bring you food and beverages inside the auditoriums.” he said. “You don’t have to order anything at all, you can just watch a movie, eat popcorn, soda and candy, and we also have the restaurant bar where you can just come in to eat and drink, and don’t have to watch a movie.” The manager of the theater has also announced that “We plan on staying open.” “We kept the door open this entire time and obviously the governor says we gotta shutdown or close the gates, we’ll abide by that. But as long as they say we can do it, it’s a certain capacity that’s what we’ll do.” he said.

While the Madison Theatre has shed hope for movie lovers and the movie industry in general, there has also been a new demonstration. Warner Bros. has announced that they will be releasing new movies in all the theaters and on HBO Max at the same time throughout 2021, starting with the long anticipated DC Comics blockbuster, Wonder Woman 1984, on the 25th of December. As the movie theater succeeds that way, anyone around Albany, NY can still have the opportunity to finally sit comfortably in a comfy chair in the auditorium, enjoying beverages and food, and to feel the experience of watching films on the big screen once again. As of today, the Madison Theatre will remain open, releasing films that will last for two weeks, and anyone can have the chance to see a film through a big screen than through a television or a smartphone screen (unless that’s what anyone wants to do instead).