Old Town Theater Turns to New Technology

Fans of the Old Town Theater, built in 1914, will be happy to hear that theater management is turning to 2012 technology to help promote and sell advance tickets for the venue, scheduled to reopen this fall.

Theater management posted information and advance sales of tickets on Kickstarter, an online funding platform for creative projects.

While many projects on Kickstarter seek funds from contributors with no defined return on investment, backers of the Old Town Theater can be guaranteed tickets correlating to the amount of money they pledge.

So far, with no advertising, 12 backers have pledged $453, with a required $1 minimum pledge.

Theater management is offering two tickets with a projected value of $40 to those contributors via Kickstarter who contribute $25 or more. Other packages are available for those who pledge at least $100 or $450.

Fans who contribute $3,000 or more will be invited to the Richmond Club, a group whose members have access to special events and four balcony VIP seats, among other things. The Old Town Theater was originally called the Richmond Theater.

The newly renovated theater is expected to have 300 seats on the bottom level and about 60 seats upstairs. During renovations, many of the original architectural details from the early 1900s were found, such as pressed tin panels and original red stucco. There were larger surprises such as an entire middle staircase that had been boarded up with a wall.

The Kickstarter website says the project will only be funded if at least $42,000 is pledged by Sept. 4. However, theater General Manager Tom Kennedy told Patch that the $42,000 figure is arbitrary, and he chose it simply to get the Kickstarter website operating.

Although the Old Town Theater management likes to keep a low profile, the Kickstarter website explains that the team has been together for many years, operating Zig’s restaurant and Comedy Zone DC.

Rob Kaufman of PMA Properties recently bought the building, located at 815 ½ King St., and after discussing whether it would house a retailer or other business, announced it would remain an entertainment venue. He has revitalized other properies on the 800 block of King Street as well.