(light chiming intro) - [Narrator] Experience cinema under the stars at your local drive-in theater.

Chat with the Crandell Theater's executive director, Mirissa Neff.

♪ Pay no attention to the man back there ♪ - And catch a performance from Stories Told.

It's all ahead on this episode of AHA!.

- [Announcer] Funding for AHA!

has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT Venture Fund.

Contributors include the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi, and the Robison Family Foundation.

(uplifting alternative music) - Hi, I'm Matt Rogowicz and this is AHA!, a house for arts, a place for all things creative.

When was the last time you went to a drive-in theater?

It's been a while for me, but the good news is there's still plenty of opportunities here in the capital region.

In this special segment co-produced by film critic Jackson Murphy, we visit the Malta Drive-In and take a nostalgic look at this uniquely American cultural phenomenon.

(instrumental intro music) - I'm Jackson Murphy, I'm a Capital Region film critic, entertainment reporter, and for the past 12 years, I've been the voice of the phone message of the Malta Drive-In Theater.

(bright instrumental music) I've been to the Hollywood Drive-In, the Jericho Drive-In.

There's so many around here, the Highway.

There are more drive-ins in upstate New York per capita than anywhere else in the country.

My first experience ever going to a movie at a theater was a drive-in theater.

I was in my mother's womb in 1998 seeing the animated "Mulan" and legend has it, I was kicking her during the funny parts.

And then the next year I saw "Tarzan" and so many of the classic animated films, "Shrek" and "Chicken Run" and "Lilo and Stitch".

It became an annual tradition, even as a newborn and growing up, to go to at least one drive-in movie every single summer because it's the place to be and the place to see incredible family movies on the big screen.

- Around this area, I know that the first drive-in opened in 1940, the Auto Vision, which was around the same time that the drive-in theaters started opening.

(dramatic instrumental music) - The technological gimmicks of the 1950s were not enough to guarantee Capital Region Theaters a steady stream of customers.

Over 5,000 movie theaters nationwide went out of business in that decade alone.

Only drive-in theaters showed any signs of life, fueled mainly by the rise of car culture and the popularity of low budget teen flicks.

Although New York was one of the first 10 states to have a drive-in theater, it still was something of a late bloomer.

Generally across America, the popularity of drive-ins peaked in the mid 1950s.

New York's peak season was 1963.

- There was this wonderful drive-in theater, oh, down near Rotterdam Junction called the River View.

They also had a wonderful playground.

One night, a skunk actually kind of shot off while we were waiting and that kind of posed a whole bunch of problems for the whole movie that night.

But going to drive-ins was a lot of fun.

- One of my earliest memories is going to the Mohawk Drive-In.

And I think we had a babysitter that night and she put us in the back of this black Packard or some ancient-looking car and off we went to the Mohawk Drive-In on Central Avenue with the big Indian out in front and we saw "Mutiny on the Bounty".

- And one time we went to see "Psycho".

Now I think my parents thought we'd fall asleep before "Psycho" came on because they always played two to three movies.

But of course, we were wide-eyed and we couldn't wait to see it.

We'd heard so much about it.

It was a lot of gossip.

And so there'd be lots of my father turning around, "Get your head down.

Don't watch this."

And we'd be with our eyes all bugging out over the top and they'd have some mat in the back and blankets.

It was just like a big pajama party.

- We go at least once a year.

My husband and I usually go.

Still make out in the back of the car, no.

(laughs) - Drive-in theaters were not my favorite places to see movie films.

I found them too distracting.

You know, the people would be moving all around and you really felt that they came there for some other reason.

- We were watching the movie, but the people in the other car were doing something else.

And I couldn't figure out what they were doing and then I did figure out what they were doing.

And it became more interesting than the movie.

(laughs) - [Jay Bobbins] Urban sprawl caused land values to skyrocket.

The earth the drive-in stood upon became more valuable for shopping centers and housing developments.

- When digital happened, a lot of them closed.

You know, it got really expensive to switch from 35 millimeter film to digital projection.

And at that point, a lot of owners that have had them for many years were debating if it was a good investment to spend 60 to $100,000 for a digital projection, and at the same time, probably looking forward to retiring.

And so a lot of them closed.

- So many movies over the last six years have gone to streaming or there's different ways of getting people to indoor theaters.

But I think you saw during the COVID year of 2020 that people who hadn't gone to drive-ins in a long time rediscovered them.

They're still here, they've always been here, but they discovered that communal experience that you can still have outside at a drive-in.

- I'm Ed Caro and me and my brother Tom have been the owners of the Malta Drive-In for the last 38 years.

They tell you not to work with family, but we get along.

We each have our own specific tasks.

- Mow the lawn, clean the bathrooms, make funnel cake batter.

- I'm involved in the film booking and the advertising and all the paperwork and such.

And together we get everything done.

- I think years ago it was a lot more competitive, I think, like most businesses.

I think in recent years now that there are so few of us, it's not that way.

In fact, we're all good friends with all the local drive-in owners.

- Every year we have a pizza party, we all get together.

- Ed and Tom who own the Malta, are very good friends of ours.

We are lucky in this area that we have so many drive-ins.

Some states only have one or two, and in our area we have eight or more, but we're far enough apart where we're not really competing with each other.

So I like to say I like to go to dinner with everybody once a year and steal other good ideas.

- I enjoy this at this point.

It keeps me active and healthy and I enjoy it for seven months of the year and the other five months of the year, I can do whatever else.

- You know, we're hoping that no more drive-ins close and sell out to the big box stores and, you know, sell it for the land because there were thousands and now there's hundreds.

So we really do hope that we can stick around for as long as possible.

(uplifting instrumental music) - People should come to a drive-in movie theater because it's unlike anything else.

It's fun, it's warm, it's inviting.

You get to see movies at nighttime, get to show off your cars.

You get to have fun with the family and create experiences that they will remember forever.

Drive-ins should stay and they deserve to stay.

- Mirissa Neff is the executive director of the Crandell Theater located in Chatham, New York.

The historic theater remains largely unchanged since it opened on Main Street in 1926.

Jade Warrick spoke with Mirissa to see what's happening at the Crandell today as it celebrates its centennial.

- [Jade] Hey, Mirissa, welcome to AHA!.

- Thank you for having me.

- Of course.

Super excited to talk to you about the Crandell Theater.

So I know you got introduced to the Crandell Theater through pitching a youth film series to them, and now you're running the place.

So how did that happen?

- Yeah, I mean, essentially I moved to Chatham, 2020, August 2020, and moved here with my three-year-old son at the time and was just trying to figure out a way to get more involved with the community and connect with the art scene.

And so I pitched a children's film series called Kid Flicks that has an educational component, it's a monthly series and it took a little bit, little time to get it off the ground, but finally launched it, I believe in 2023.

And yeah, it was a big success.

After about a year, I was invited to join the board of the Crandell.

So that was kind of the next step of involvement.

And from there, I got appointed to being the director, the executive director of the theater.

- I know it's like recently turned 100 years old, correct?

- Yes.

Well, actually it's happening in, it's this year that the theater's turning 100, December 25th.

It opened Christmas Day, 1926.

- What?

- [Mirissa] Yeah.

- That's crazy.

- [Mirissa] Yeah.

- Oh my God, that's just such a beautiful space to be able to even be in like a theater that's like 100 years old.

- Yes.

- And I know you guys only have like one screen, correct?

- We do, yeah.

- Okay, so how does that work with what you show and what does the Crandell Theater usually show?

- Yeah.

I mean, we show a mix of different kinds of films.

Something that I've noticed as the director of the theater is that really event programming is what brings people in.

So when there's something with added value, a Q&A with a filmmaker or a talk with an editor just dissecting the film, that's really what our audience is excited about.

But we show a mix of all kinds of films, whether it's first run films that are just being released nationally down to more kind of historic films and even very classic films like silent films from the silent era when The Crandell originally opened in the 1920s.

So we're showing a film called "The Black Pirate" to celebrate our centennial in December, and we'll have an accompanist to play along with the film, so play organ along with the film.

- Oh, that's pretty cool.

- Yeah.

- So it's like a lot of interactiveness with it.

- Yes.

- So you say you do panels and like Q&As and interactive things like that, and you even have a cafe in there right now too, correct?

- We do, we do.

- So why is it important to do all that?

Not every theater does that, not every independent theater does that either.

So why is that important to your guys' mission?

- Yeah, I mean, it's multifold.

I mean, essentially, the single screen historic theater is a dying breed.

So there are only 50 something theaters like the Crandell left in the country, in the entire country.

And recently we renovated the theater, renovated and restored, because the theater kind of couldn't have gone on the way that it was.

So right when I joined the board was when the decision was made to close the theater to.

It had been in the works for some years, but the decision was finally made to close the theater and renovate for one year and do a full restoration, state-of-the-art sound system, all new seats.

We kept 36 of our original seats from the 1920s, actually, up in the balcony.

We had them restored by a local artisan, but otherwise, it was, everything is new.

And we opened up our lobby because we used to have two storefronts aside the kind of entrance to the theater.

So now that's open and has a beautiful cafe where our community can come together and talk film, really.

- Yeah.

- [Mirissa] Yeah.

- And kind of go back a little bit, because I know, you know, you mentioned like you pitched a film, so why do you care so much about film yourself?

- Oh, well, I am a filmmaker, so that has something to do with it, I think.

(laughs) - Yeah, give us a little bit of background on that.

- Yeah, I'm a documentary filmmaker who, I made a couple of films, one feature film, which came out or was on the festival circuit starting a couple of years ago.

Generally, my work has had to do with music.

So this was a film that was about a band from South Africa, this multiracial punk band during apartheid called "This Is National Wake".

That's the name of the film.

National Wake is the name of the band.

So that was a project that took me up to almost a decade to make and really immersed me in the documentary filmmaking scene, which was a really wonderful process.

But it also kind of sprung from my experience working with PBS.

Originally when I found out about this band, which I, you know, once I learned of their story, it was like this really existed.

It was, you know, white and Black folks were playing music together in South Africa in the, like depths of apartheid, what?

And I was working on a PBS show called Soundtracks that- - That's cool.

- Yeah, was about music and politics.

And I thought that this was going to be a little segment for that show, but it ended up being a much bigger story than that.

So it became a feature film.

- Oh, I love that.

Ooh, go PBS.

- Yeah, exactly.

- Well, that love really carries into the Crandell Theater just based off your past.

So a lot of people are watching movies in their house now.

We're on our phones, iPads, everything but this movie theater sometimes.

So how does that care carry over to how you're creating sustainable practices and creating a space within the Crandell that keeps people going there?

- I mean, I think that it's really vital to have that community gathering space to watch film together.

That was part of the reason why I created that film, that children's film series, because I wanted to foster, you know, my own young cinephile of a son and his friends and bring them together.

There is a purpose in watching films at your home and being cozy and all of that, but it's a completely different experience to watch it in community and to have a shared experience, not only a shared experience, but also to have the kind of effect of other people around you in appreciating something and the emotionality of it.

So I think that it's vital to keep theaters like The Crandell going.

- And just to be in a space where, you know, people were watching silent films and in like the 20s, I don't know, there's just something about- - Yes.

- Being in that space that probably feels like, whoa.

- Yeah, it's quite amazing actually when we do show silent films and have, you know, live music being played along with it.

It really feels like you're being transported back to that era.

- I love that.

- [Mirissa] Yeah.

- So in the next hundred years, what do you want people to think of The Crandell?

What do you want The Crandell to put out in the next 100 years where people look back and they're like, "Wow."?

- Yeah.

It's already starting what we want and the renovation of the theater was just the beginning of it, but I think that people do feel like this ownership and pride of having our, I mean, our theater is right on Main Street in Chatham.

So it really is this beacon.

Our marquee is right there.

This is a one block downtown, you know, quote unquote.

So we have kind of like this outsized presence on this street and it's really, it's quite amazing.

Everyone who comes through is just like amazed by one, that we've been able to keep the theater going and, you know, that's no small feat.

There are many people, you know, who are on our board or part of our community who came together to save the Crandell at different points in its history.

There were moments when, you know, I've heard tale of moments when it didn't seem like the theater would have survived because, you know, things happened along the way and it was closed for a stretch, like, and then people somehow came together and really kept the theater alive which is so fortunate for us now.

So I think that, you know, for the next hundred years, I want this to be this community gathering space where people can appreciate cinema and, you know, foster a love and a pride for the Chatham community.

- Yeah.

It's basically like upkept by care.

- [Mirissa] Yes.

- And love, truly.

- Yes, it is.

- So tell the people what the Crandell Theater has going on, you know, coming up.

- Yeah.

So essentially, we have our annual Film Columbia Festival each fall which brings out, you know, we have 50 films from around the world that are, you know, more than 50 films and filmmaker Q&As.

And it's just this, like, week where we're open for 10 days straight and there's a lot of excitement on Main Street around that.

Coming up in December, we are celebrating our hundredth anniversary.

So we're doing two events on December 12th.

We will have a kind of family-friendly silent film.

Again, both events have silent films that are going to be accompanied by musicians, different sets of musicians.

So during the afternoon, we're going to have a family friendly film from 1926 called "The Adventures of Prince Achmed", the first animated film.

It was real, it's stunning and highly recommended, so that's going to be wonderful.

And then we're showing "The Black Pirate" at 7:00 PM on December 12th and we're going to have a different musician for that one, and that's going to be, you know, another film that came out in 1926.

Not only that, it was the second film that ever showed at The Crandell.

- Wow.

- So Christmas weekend back in 1926, that's what people were doing at The Crandell.

- Going full circle.

- Yeah, exactly.

- Awesome.

Can't wait to show up and see it myself.

- [Mirissa] Yeah.

- Well, thank you so much for joining us, Mirissa.

We appreciate you, and we appreciate that you run the beautiful space of The Crandell.

Thank you.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- Please welcome Stories Told.

(gentle folk pop music) ♪ Once we were happy with the simple way ♪ ♪ The planets curved around the sun ♪ ♪ We took our time ♪ ♪ Count nine, maybe ten ♪ ♪ We watch the skies and ♪ every night, we do it again ♪ ♪ Now you tell me it was not that way ♪ ♪ The poles were flipped, ♪ a seismic shift ♪ ♪ We feel it to this day ♪ ♪ Blame it on Jupiter ♪ ♪ Jealous of the Sun ♪ ♪ Blame it on Jupiter ♪ ♪ It's the biggest one ♪ ♪ It's all about Jupiter ♪ ♪ And its gravity waits ♪ ♪ Pushing the planets around ♪ ♪ And everyone obeys ♪ ♪ We never cared that ♪ it was gathering moons ♪ ♪ It's been that way since it was born ♪ ♪ Oh, on its face, a quiet place ♪ ♪ Calm and serene ♪ ♪ Ties a world made ♪ entirely out of storms ♪ ♪ Now you know better ♪ ♪ Now you understand ♪ ♪ The planet's in their tidal spin ♪ ♪ We're under its command ♪ ♪ Blame it on Jupiter ♪ ♪ Jealous of the Sun ♪ ♪ Blame it on Jupiter ♪ ♪ It's the biggest one ♪ ♪ It's all about Jupiter ♪ ♪ And its gravity waits ♪ ♪ Pushing the planets around ♪ ♪ And everyone obeys ♪ ♪ Always in motion ♪ ♪ The crimson jewel you wear ♪ ♪ Deep as any ocean ♪ ♪ But you don't really care ♪ ♪ It pulls us in until you win ♪ ♪ We haven't got a prayer ♪ (gentle folk pop music) ♪ Blame it on Jupiter ♪ ♪ Jealous of the Sun ♪ ♪ Blame it on Jupiter ♪ ♪ It's the biggest one ♪ ♪ It's all about Jupiter ♪ ♪ And its gravity waits ♪ ♪ Pushing the planets around ♪ ♪ And everyone obeys ♪ ♪ Every night, watch the sky ♪ ♪ We'll do it again ♪ ♪ Every night, take our time ♪ ♪ We'll do it again ♪ ♪ Every night, watch the sky ♪ ♪ We'll do it again ♪ ♪ Hmm ♪ (gentle folk pop music) (upbeat folk pop music) ♪ What's behind the curtain ♪ ♪ Well, wouldn't you like to know ♪ ♪ Pay no attention to the man back there ♪ ♪ He's not the one that runs the show ♪ ♪ While you were busy watching one hand ♪ ♪ It's the other one ♪ that's running the game ♪ ♪ Keep your eyes on the guy who lies ♪ ♪ While the world goes up in flames ♪ ♪ You think you put one by me ♪ ♪ But I'm watching you all the time ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ Hmm ♪ ♪ When you look in the mirror ♪ ♪ For what you want me to see ♪ ♪ The reflection of an honest face ♪ ♪ All the time man looking at me ♪ ♪ You talk about climate ♪ ♪ You say it's just another fine day ♪ ♪ Well, talk is cheap when ♪ the flood waters deep ♪ ♪ And it's washing our homes away ♪ ♪ We were floating on promises ♪ ♪ Waiting for FEMA to pay ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh ♪ ♪ I breathe deep because I ♪ can't believe what I find ♪ ♪ Its a more power grab ♪ ♪ From the back stab a little combined ♪ ♪ If you send our sons and daughters ♪ ♪ On wars that can't be won ♪ ♪ Would you sacrifice your home ♪ ♪ If all its killing time is done ♪ (upbeat folk pop music) ♪ Better watch my step now ♪ ♪ Better learn who I can trust ♪ ♪ There's one thing the enemy knows ♪ ♪ It's how to turn your stone to dust ♪ ♪ And your pillars of freedom ♪ ♪ Well, they've pulverized ♪ the whole sewer ♪ ♪ They turn away ♪ ♪ And the other state is ♪ standing there looking at you ♪ ♪ When he's up on the podium ♪ ♪ He gives a tigers point of view ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ I keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ Keep my eyes wide open ♪ ♪ How about you ♪ - Thanks for joining us.

For more arts, visit wmht.org/aha and be sure to connect with us on social.

I'm Matt Rogowicz.

Thanks for watching.

(slow beats music) - [Announcer] Funding for AHA!

has been provided by your contribution and by contributions to the WMHT Venture Fund.

Contributors include the Leo Cox Beach Philanthropic Foundation, Chet and Karen Opalka, Robert and Doris Fischer Malesardi, and the Robison Family Foundation.