24 July 2023
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – The closure of the Regal Warren Theater in Old Town Wichita has some concerned the much-loved non-profit Twilight Theatre in Greensburg could shut down.
The hundred-year-old movie theater is used as an event space, auditorium and gathering place for the 700 people living in Greensburg.
The nonprofit faced financial struggles even before the pandemic, but lockdowns made matters worse.
“How are we gonna keep the twilight theatre open here when we have 800 people?” said George Ryan, executive director of Twilight Theatre.
The shuttering of the Regal Warren in Old Town Wichita sparked worries for Ryan, who wondered how a small town like Greensburg could keep its own theater afloat.
A shared love for the theatre funded its return 8 years after a tornado tore through Greensburg in 2007.
The Twilight Theatre took on new roles when it reopened, serving as an auditorium for local schools.
“I did a lot of my drama parts and stuff here,” said Ellery McMurry, a manager at Twilight Theatre.
Mavrick Titus remembers performing in clumsy middle school music recitals at the theatre.
“We’re all young and don’t have that beat or pattern, really,” Mavrick said. “So it’s just fun to make the audience laugh a little bit.”
The Twilight is still being kept afloat through donations from locals like Titus.
The 16-year-old works on a local farm. He sponsored Sunday afternoon’s showing of Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning.
“This is, a lot of times, where we’ll come on the weekends, have some fun, watch a nice movie together, as friends, family,” Mavrick said.
Business at the Twilight Theatre is down 50 percent compared to 2017, before the pandemic began.
“We weren’t doing enough business then to warrant this theatre being open as a theatre all by itself,” Ryan said.
Ryan hopes to rally the community to preserve the space, which is a hub for the arts in Greensburg. The process will take a united effort from the community, according to Ryan.