Times Cinema Sets Grand Opening for Friday

Classic theater to reopen this weekend with a first-run show, and with some Hollywood fanfare to boot – red carpet, tabloids, starlets and spotlights.

The long-awaited reopening of the Times Cinema is scheduled for Friday night, with some interesting, exotic and downright scandalous plans for the evening. The Times will show "Django Unchained" at 7:30 p.m., but a red carpet will be rolled out for guests at 6 p.m. The Times, a property of Neighborhood Theater Group, which also owns the Rosebud Cinema, promises paparazzi from "Hush Hush Magazine," "The New York Tattler" and the "Hollywood Journal-Star." Guests can meet and greet starlet "Marylin Monrovia" – and snap some pictures in front of the celebrity wall before settling in for the first-run feature showing. If you've never been to the Times, it's at 5906 W. Vliet St., but you can also just look to the sky – there will be searchlight …

•  2 Comments
• Photos (1)

East Students Get – and Give – a Civics Lesson at Debate

AP class attends public viewing of presidential faceoff to absorb viewpoints they might not hear among only family and friends.

Granted, they won't be going to the polls Nov. 6 to cast their votes in the presidential election, but 10 attendees at Wednesday night's free public debate showing at the Rosebud Cinema were every bit as engaged as the rest of the audience. The Patch-sponsored event drew a nearly full house, including 10 East High students who went for a civics lesson and proved afterward that they can analyze political events with the best pundits. All were from social studies teacher Ann Ward's AP Government class. "She wanted us all to come out here," said Jacob Martin, "and she was here, too. She thought it would be a really good idea for us to take part in this and watch the debate as a group." "I think the advantage here is the bipartisan atmosphere…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (1)

Watch Obama-Romney Debate at the Rosebud on Us

Historic one-on-one will be on the big screen, and you're invited. Plus, hang around after for conversation on the outcome.

Rosebud Cinema Trial Run Goes Smoothly

A 'soft opening' Wednesday night treated invited guests to a free show in a successful test of the theater's readiness to start its new run on Friday.

The Rosebud Cinema came back to life Wednesday night. The couches, clean and comfy, some of them new, were lined up in rows, ready for movie-goers to relax. The concessionaires were prepared to fill orders for drinks, snacks, appetizers and dinners. The projectionist pronounced all systems were go. The owner and managers of the Rosebud offered invited guests – many of them other local business owners – a sneak peek at the refreshed theater with a free showing of "The Bourne Ultimatum," third in the "Bourne" series. The fourth, and a current first-run release, "The Bourne Legacy," opens the latest chapter in the Rosebud's long history this weekend. Wednesday's trial run was a success, with no more than a couple of small glitches to attend …

• Photos (3)

Rosebud Reopening Date Now Set for Aug. 31

Owner Lee Barczak and film manager Larry Widen confirm a Friday night of film on the last night of the month. But which film? That's still to be seen.

The Rosebud marquee will soon be ablaze on The Avenue, and ticket-takers will be ready to change your hard-earned cash into an evening of escape in the fantasy of film. Your drink orders will be delivered as you settle into a cushy couch cushion. The house lights will dim and darken, and the screen will begin to glow with the light of the "magic lantern." But, sorry — not next Wednesday. Contrary to earlier reports, the Rosebud Cinema Drafthouse will not open then but on Aug. 31, a week and a couple of days farther along. A report in the Business Journal citing an Aug. 22 reopening, based on a Facebook posting, was premature and unconfirmed, said both the Rosebud's owner and its film buyer and manager. "No, we're not going to make that," …

•  7 Comments
• Photos (1)

Rosebud Cinema Sets Aug. 22 For Opening

The re-opening of the historic theater comes after Lee Barczak bought the community theater in a May sheriff's sale.

The Rosebud Cinema is expected to open Aug. 22, according to a report in The Business Journal. The newspaper reported that the Rosebud Cinema launched a new Facebook page, which announced the Aug. 22 opening. It does not say what the opening film(s) will be, but the Facebook page shows photos of a boy in a Captain America costume and a Spiderman mannequin on the marquee. Lee Barczak, who bought the theater at a sheriff’s sale in May, was out Tuesday, according to the person who answered the phone at Morgan Kenwood Advisors. The firm date for the theater opening is an additional boost for the East Tosa district, is also expected to welcome a second BelAir Cantina from the hip restaurant group Mojofuco.

•  4 Comments
• Photos (1)

Rosebud Cinema Owner Plans August Opening

Lee Barczak says work on Rosebud and Times theaters is "full speed ahead," including hiring staff, toward an opening next month.

No firm date is set, but the owner of the Rosebud and Times cinemas says both theaters will reopen in August. Lee Barczak, who bought the theaters out of foreclosure at a sheriff's sale May 7, vowed to bring light back to the screens this summer, and it looks like he'll do just that. "Our game plan was to get it done correctly and really be ready for the public and not rush it, and that's what we've been doing," Barczak said Wednesday morning. Painters were working diligently on the balcony stairway walls, a sure sign that structural work is taken care of and the finishing touches are close at hand. "Renovations are in progress and work has been moving steadily ahead," Barczak said. "We've been in contact with both municipalities to make …

•  15 Comments
• Photos (1)

UPDATED: Hope for Rosebud Cinema? Former Owner Might Take Control

Current owner said it's difficult to refinance or renew commercial loans in current environment.

It appears there might still be a chance to keep the Rosebud Cinema alive, at least for a while. On Wednesday, the Journal Sentinel reported that AnchorBank plans to turn operation of the cinema over to Jay Hollis, who owned the theater from 1999 to 2007. AnchorBank holds the loan on the cinema. The newspaper reported Tuesday that the Rosebud Cinema, which has served Wauwatosa under different names since 1931, will close in the first week of March. Opened in 1931 as the Tosa Theater by Ross Baldwin, the theater at 6823 W. North Ave. was owned from 1940-99 by Marcus Cinemas. In 1999, the theater went to a sheriff’s auction, where it was purchased by Hollis. Hollis owned the theater until the summer of 2007, when the current owner, David …

•  23 Comments
• Photos (1)