The Show Must Go On

The Michigan Theater and State 

Theatre, located in downtown Ann 
Arbor, have been home to countless 
movie screenings and performing arts 
events for the Ann Arbor and U-M 
communities in their respective 93 and 
79 years of operation. The pair of historic 
theaters, operated by the Michigan 
Theater Foundation, have faced a year 
rife with challenges brought on by the 
COVID-19 pandemic.

In early March 2020, as COVID-

19 began to take hold in the state, the 
Michigan and State theaters closed their 

doors as per an executive order signed by 
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. The closure was 
intended to last for two weeks, but as the 
pandemic worsened, the theaters stayed 
closed indefinitely, with the marquees 
displaying reassuring messages such as 
“Flatten the Curve, See You Soon,” “Good 
Health to All,” and “Thank You Frontline 
Heros.”

Through the pause, the theaters 

offered virtual screenings, custom 
marquee messages, and concessions 
to-go. 
Nevertheless, 
the 
theaters 

averaged a weekly loss of $10,000, and as 
of September, the theaters had suffered a 
total loss of more than $1.3 million. 

One of the theaters’ primary sources of 

support during the pandemic came from 
local community members, who rallied 
together to contribute via memberships, 
donations and sponsorships. Although 
the theaters were able to reopen in 
October 2020, they quickly had to close 
back down due to a statewide order in 
November.

In late January 2021, the theaters 

were able to reopen for limited in-person 
screenings. The Michigan Theater 
symbolically reopened with the film “A 
Hero for a Night,” which played at the 
original opening of the theater in 1928. 

I visited the theaters in April during a 

sparsely attended matinee screening. As 
masked patrons entered, they were faced 

with temperature checks, hand sanitizer, 
distancing markers, and plexiglass 
barriers. 

Inside the theaters, there was room 

for distancing, as the ticketing system 
guarantees at least six feet of space for 
each patron and attendance is capped at 
50 percent. The concession stands were 
notably empty and the water and soda 
fountains closed, in part because masks 
are required in the theaters. 

When the film started, employees 

wiped down surfaces in the lobby, and 
tended to tasks, such as changing poster 
displays and the text on the marquee.

Although the movie-going experience 

was significantly different, patrons said 

they were excited to get back out into 
the community and begin a return to 
normalcy.

In a January interview with MLive, 

Russ Collins, CEO and executive director 
of the Michigan Theater Foundation, 
remained optimistic about the theaters’ 
futures, while acknowledging it may 
take time for some to be comfortable 
attending in-person screenings.

“The reason that television and 

subsequently streaming and DVDs and 
all of those kind of things didn’t put an 
end to going out (to) the movies is not 
because you can watch something at 
home,” Collins said. “It’s about going out. 
There definitely is a future.”

10

Thursday, May 13, 2021
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
MULTIMEDIA

 DOMINICK SOKOTOFF

Daily Staff Photographer

