Paramount Theatre: Lights, Camera, Action



Posted: Tuesday, October 27, 2009

by Joe Cline
Affinity Properties, Inc

Picture this: At 2 pm you and the children scurry into the theatre, for an hour and a half of fun Disney magic. Julie Andrews floats onto the screen by the handle of her umbrella as Mary Poppins and announces that a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down. You laugh, you fret, and most importantly you sing along, as Disney's Mary Poppins fills your afternoon.

When the final song is sung, you and the kids head out for an early dinner before the sitter comes for them. When she does, you return to the theatre, this time with your best friend for a movie such as Rosemarys' Baby. For another hour and a half you follow the trials and tribulations of Mia Farrow's character, as in black and white a drama to beat all dramas plays out and the spawn of Satan is born. Eventually the credits roll and again you saunter out, perhaps this time to a bar. But, yet again, you return not too much later, this time with your husband. He is the perfect seatmate for The Exorcist. He'll drape his arm around you when the "scary and gory" scenes come on, and you'll pretend you're scared so you can curl into him.

By the time the final credits roll on the third and final film, you will have filled your day with movies, fun and the people you love. It sounds too good to be true - a theatre with enough variety to entertain any man, woman or child, but it's not. There is such a theatre and it sits right down the street from the Capitol building - it's name: Paramount Theatre.

Paramount Theatre has long been a part of the city of Austin. In years past, it was home to dozens of vaudeville acts, where dancers, comedians and actors filled the stage waiting to entertain all who came in. It has also hosted silent movies, where through the chilling notes of a piano and the dramatic acting of the cast, audiences have been drawn into the thrilling, yet quiet, lives on screen. And of course, Broadway has been no stranger to Paramount Theatre. More thespian troupes aptly performing Broadway hits than can be counted have appeared on stage, making the audience chortle with laughter with comedies, choke with tears during dramas and leave with tap shoes in their minds after musicals. It has truly been a renaissance theatre, leaving no stone of the stage unturned.

Today, the primary draw is classic movies. Movies such as Rosemary's Baby, Mary Poppins and The Exorcist make regular appearances on the theatres screen. And with tickets only 7 dollars each, or 45 for 10 admissions, the rows of plush, comfortable chairs are never lacking in bodies to fill them.

Of course there are still also the occasional live performance, plays, concerts, etc. And when that occurs, it is a full house as well. For it is known throughout Austin that no theatre puts on a show like Paramount Theatre; in fact, no theatre could try.

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