Local Luminaries: The Rosendale Theatre Collective

by Sari Botton, February 24, 2010

Rumors travel fast in a small town like Rosendale, often only to be debunked by the time they make it from one end of Main Street to the other. But one particularly juicy bit of gossip circulating last fall turned out to be true: Not only was the much beloved Rosendale Theatre for sale, there were serious buyers interested.

To many in this artsy/funky little town, the news of the potential purchase was devastating. Word on the street was that at least one interested party was a corporate entity from outside the community who might not keep it as a single-screen theater, or even a theater at all. In the age of the corporate multiplex, and at a time when people can conveniently download movies to watch them on screens small enough to fit in their pockets, a 300-seat single-screen theater might seem little more than a quaint anachronism to a real estate concern.

But to the people of Rosendale and moviegoers throughout Ulster County, the Rosendale Theater is much more than a charming throwback. You can help yourself to popcorn for $1 on the honor system. Seventy-seven-year-old Anthony “Uncle Tony” Cacchio, a son of one of the founders, runs the box office before heading upstairs to operate the projector. To patrons of the theater, it is an important community gathering place and a cultural gem where you can see current indie movies for $6, and where, increasingly, live theater, dance, and music performances have been selling out. It’s also one of three outposts for screenings during the annual Woodstock Film Festival in the fall.

“When a number of us heard there may have been an offer on the theater, we all kind of gasped,” recalls Richard “F-Stop” Minissali, a Rosendale resident who sits on the town council. “The thought of someone coming in and turning the theater into apartments or a lumberyard or something else was very upsetting. It was scary to think about losing this critical anchor business and cultural center. So a bunch of us got together and said, ‘Okay, let’s see what we can make happen.’”

And so was born the Rosendale Theatre Collective, a growing adhoc group chaired by Minissali that aims to purchase the theater from the Cacchio family—who have owned and run it for 61 years—and turn it into a nonprofit.

They plan to continue the Cacchios’ tradition of showing mostly indie and art house films, as well as the family’s more recent dedication to live performance, and benefits for social and humanitarian causes. In recent years, the Cacchios have hosted a diverse group of live acts, including Tuvan throat singers as part of the World Culture Concert Series, a performance of “The Vagina Monologues” that benefited Hope’s Fund/The United Way, and performances by Professor Louie and the Crowmatix to benefit Iraq war veterans.