Comments on: Total Bummer: Prince Theater To Shut Its Doors

By: cb

cb — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 18:12:46 +0000

WHYY reported otherwise today.

By: shawnkilroy

shawnkilroy — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:52:21 +0000

i saw Abbot and Costello meet Frankenstein there on Halloween about 7 years ago and it was wonderful. I also saw Rosemary’s Baby there. Another time I saw Barbarella with 2 drag queens with mics at the front riffin it MST3K style. I saw Downtown ’81 upstairs in their “blackbox” theater. That was awesome! It had Basquiat in it and John Lurie, and Kid Creole and the Coconuts, and James White and The Blacks and all that NoWave shit I love. Even Mathew Barney’s 13 hour nonsensical Cremaster cycle. I watched like, 6 hours of that at the Prince on comfortable Non I-House chairs. I haven’t seen anything at the Prince in over 5 years. Like most Philadelphians, I fucking hate live theater. Movies people, Movies! Gimmee some Fassbinder retrospective. I’m there. Even Rocky Horror. But forget this live musical theater crap.

By: tips

tips — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:08:55 +0000

Saw that. Looks like some morning-after pill shit right there.

By: DJRobertDrake

DJRobertDrake — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 21:03:22 +0000

I know you don’t “officially” view philly.com anymore – but seems the spin is in to dispel the misquote from last night…

http://www.philly.com/philly/entertainment/20090721_Rumors_swirl_about_the_Prince_Theater.html

By: AquaBoogie

AquaBoogie — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 20:59:42 +0000

Other houses that were run like the Prince maybe. That’s it. The movie industry is fairly recession proof (per a friend in the business.) When times are tight, people may not eat out as much, or see concerts, but $20 for a couple to see a flick is a cheap night out.

By: vfiorillo

vfiorillo — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 18:19:48 +0000

So what does this mean for the First Glance Film Festival, scheduled for the Prince in October?

I heard from someone who worked at the Prince that they took a major bath on Liza Minnelli in 2007 and never recovered.

By: J T. Ramsay

J T. Ramsay — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:56:29 +0000

You know what Philly desperately needs? A legit repertory cinema. International House doesn’t cut it, even though they get some amazing stuff.

By: DJRobertDrake

DJRobertDrake — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:51:57 +0000

@cummins – I agree. Gretchen held that space together and really made it develop a strong reputation in the community.

Sad to see it close.

By: cummins

cummins — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 17:43:37 +0000

This place just wasn’t the same since Gretchen Claussen left. She really did such an amazing job with the Film program there and community workshops. It’s a great venue that would be perfect for rep film events. Here’s hoping that it can be reborn.