Editorial board: Community leaders' support for Catlow a welcome effort
The email Catlow Theater owner Tim O'Connor sent to patrons in March was cryptic and concerning.
The 92-year-old movie house would be showing the documentary "Apollo 11" that weekend, the email announced. But O'Connor went on to reveal a drama unfolding behind the scenes.
"Not to get maudlin," he wrote, "but this may be one of the last films I am able to book at The Catlow. I made a very bad decision that has cost me nearly everything I have - and it is still ongoing. I can't even afford to book movies after this one. I'm not asking for your charity or sympathy, just your business. The mistake was entirely my own fault.
"Now more than ever, we need your business to stay in operation."
O'Connor has declined to elaborate, but he has continued to book films and to thank his loyal customers for their support in the weeks since. Now, however, he has attracted additional support - from leaders of Barrington's cultural community.
Barrington Cultural Commission members are suggesting events and other ways to improve business for what is an important - even iconic - part of the village. It's wonderful to see community leaders rally around the theater, and they should continue to do so. Indeed, it may take some out-of-the-box thinking to help this historic independent compete against movie chains with bigger screens and plush, reclining seats.
Saving the Catlow, after all, means saving a piece of history.
The Tudor Revival-style, one-screen theater - on the National Register of Historic Places since 1989 - opened in 1927 with silent films and hosted vaudeville performances featuring stars such as Gene Autry and Sally Rand.
Ticket prices are cheaper than at the average multiplex, though not as low as they were a few years ago. Ads for local businesses - doctors, builders and more - replace the usual splashy movie trailers. It's part of what makes the Catlow unique.
The theater bills itself as being in the "heart of Barrington," and residents as well as patrons from other suburbs have an incentive to see it thrive.
The Catlow's fans have helped out before, dipping into their own pockets in 2012 to raise more than the $100,000 needed to fund a digital projector required for new movie releases.
But when O'Connor asked for more donations in 2017, that time for the adjoining Showtime Eatery, he fell way short of his $40,000 goal.
Commission members say O'Connor is open to hearing suggestions. One that has been floated is a "Sound of Music" singalong over Thanksgiving weekend. Plus, there's a Save the Catlow Theater - "Phantom of the Opera" screening on May 31.
O'Connor has asked for support. Now, he should seek out advice - from the commission, from his loyal patrons, from those who run historic theaters in other places.
"He's a great guy and he deserves our support," Barrington Cultural Commission member Jack Schaefer said of O'Connor. "And everybody wants to keep the Catlow."
Indeed, the Catlow is a local treasure - one we'd all hate to lose.