Greensburg theater: They rebuilt it, hoping you will come

GREENSBURG – The Twilight Theater was destroyed by a massive EF-5 tornado on May 4, 2007.

The tornado reduced more than 90 percent of Greensburg to rubble. But long before it struck, town residents were talking about refurbishing and renovating the theater, which opened in 1917.

After the tornado, the community rebuilt essential services. Last month, a new $3.5 million Twilight Theater became the last major symbol to be rebuilt.

The new theater, run by a working partnership between Kiowa County Schools and the theater’s board of directors, is plush, spacious and filled with state-of-the-art technology.

It was built and is operated with the environment in mind. All concessions packaging is made from recycled content or is biodegradable and compostable. There are recycling bins, LED light bulbs and rechargeable batteries throughout the building.

“I was attracted to the green movement and green living and wanted to implement some of those business practices into the art world,” said Adam Wagner, the theater’s director. “We reuse as much as we can. We’ve recycled more than we’ve thrown away.”

Regional attraction

The theater boasts the largest screen between Wichita and Denver as well as a stage for a live-performance venue, Wagner said.

When the tornado hit Greensburg, the population of the town was slightly more than 1,400 residents. Now it is closer to 900 residents.

So how can a small Kiowa County town support a $3.5 million theater?

“It is a tremendous asset for our community,” said Stacy Barnes, tourism director for the city of Greensburg and director of the town’s Big Well Museum. “The theater was one thing we had before the tornado and now that it is rebuilt, it is so much more than we had before. It is a performing arts center. The school can use it, but it can also be used for tourism. People can rent it out for events and meetings.”

Plus, Barnes said, she looks forward to just taking her kids out on a Friday night to see a movie.

“This can be a regional draw,” she said.

The closest theaters to Greensburg are in Coldwater and Kinsley, and both are older and have smaller screens, she said.

“We want this to be a destination,” Barnes said. “With new restaurants opening in town, we think people will want to come here, shop and stay the night.”

Funds for rebuilding the theater came from private and corporate donations. The J.E. and L.E Maybee Foundation in Tulsa provided $300,000. Similar funding came from the South Central Community Foundation and Friends of Education Trust. Backers also used tax credits, insurance money from the old theater and in-kind donations.

The Greensburg schools plan to use the 400-seat theater for graduation events and school concerts. Wagner also plans to create a community theater.

It was built to be a regional attraction, Wagner said.

Greensburg’s mayor, Bob Dixon, describes it as a community auditorium.

“We can have a wide plethora of activities there,” Dixon said. “It is a destination place.”

Multiple uses

“When Kiowa County Schools rebuilt, they didn’t rebuild an auditorium. They can use this facility for vocal and band concerts,” Wagner said. “It is a hybrid facility. We have had people express interest to perform or bring acts in. The hardest thing to get out of the minds of Greensburg residents is that it is no longer a Greensburg facility. It is a regional facility. First and foremost, we want to showcase local, Kansas talent.”

After living five years in New York City, Wagner said, he has Broadway connections he’d like to introduce to Greensburg. He grew up in northwest Indiana and attended Cincinnati’s School for Performing Arts. He has worked in New York, Montana, Florida and Colorado.

Potentially, he said, the theater could host gubernatorial and statewide political debates.

“We have an art deco feel in design,” Wagner said. “We mixed the old-fashioned style with new technology.”

The theater uses tablets when people pay for tickets and concessions.

Theater-goers who attend movies that are more adult oriented can buy alcohol at the theater’s bar during Friday and Saturday night showings.

On April 24, the theater reopened with a crowd of 200. It showed “Back to the Future” on Friday night and featured a DeLorean onstage; on Saturday, it showed “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and featured bubbles falling from the ceiling; and on Sunday, the movie was “The Wizard of Oz.”

More than 300 people attended the famed tornado movie while a pianist sat at a grand piano in the theater’s lobby playing old show tunes, Wagner said.

For the most part, the theater will feature first-run movies.

The Greensburg theater, Wagner said, is a place to build dreams.

“I came here because I knew that if they were rebuilding, the townspeople really wanted it,” he said. “So many communities take their theaters for granted. Here, it was in their blood to make it come back. It was such a cathartic moment over the opening weekend for people to realize this was the last big thing to get finished. This theater means something.”

This story was originally published May 10, 2015 at 3:39 PM with the headline "Greensburg theater: They rebuilt it, hoping you will come."