By Anthony Garzilli
Originally featured in Paprika Southern
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He walked inside alone. Outside were the supporters, politicians, well-wishers, friends, volunteers. But for a brief moment he was alone inside the Mars Theatre. The revitalized Mars Theatre in Springfield, GA.
After being dormant for 57 years, the theater that used to show westerns, cartoons and newsreels was being reborn and Springfield’s director of cultural affairs, Tommy Deadwyler, lover of the arts, was right smack in the middle of its rise.
The public launch of the new theater was so big he wore a suit.
He looked around.
“You know,” said Deadwyler, dressed in jeans, sitting a day after the theatre’s April 23 soft opening on wooden stairs that lead to the balcony. “I was just filled with emotion. Just how proud we are of this and what we have done.”
Behind Deadwyler, through closed doors, a saxophone plays. Loud. Randall Bramblett’s band is jamming, practicing for that night’s gig. The sounds fill the theatre, overpowering Deadwyler’s voice.
It’s an engrossing sound. The type of sound that makes you want to go up those wooden stairs to the balcony to see what all the fuss is about.
The jamming becomes louder. Deadwyler’s eyes are wide. He smiles. When Deadwyler, from Sautee Nacoochee, GA, was hired last fall he was determined to rebuild the Mars Theatre with state-of-the-art equipment. If the new theatre was going to revitalize downtown Springfield (population: 2,800), then it had to be a top-notch facility.
‘We had one shot at this,” Deadwyler said.
The theater’s sound system, lighting and digital projection equipment are high quality. The 25-by-12-foot screen will show first-run movies. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 premiered May 1. The theater’s 220 seats are comfortable, equipped with cup holders. There’s room to dance in the aisles. The lobby’s refurbished. Even the popcorn tastes great.
“We wanted to be part of something that will make a mark on the community,” Deadwyler said.
Bats and spiders used to make themselves at home in the empty space. Months ago much of the building was rubble.
But during its opening weekend last month, more than 200 people saw musical acts the Greencards, von Grey and Essie Mae Brooks.
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Originally published on May 7, 2014
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