Sundays are sleepy on Broad Street. Most of the bars are closed and churchgoers are elsewhere. It is a cool and overcast early spring day, and the downtown streets are mostly bare. But around one in the afternoon, people begin to trickle into the Miller Theater. Soon, around five hundred people have arrived, here to attend a free screening of the 1996 family film, Matilda.
The theater opens its doors once a month for its “Movies at the Miller” series, sponsored by Queensborough National Bank & Trust. “It is us paying homage to the Miller Theater’s past and ensuring that we bring quality entertainment that’s accessible to everyone in the CSRA,” says marketing director Katie Brooks, referencing the theater’s first life as a movie theater from 1940 until its closure in the mid ‘80s. Renovated and reopened in 2018, the Miller is now home to the Augusta Symphony and also serves as a performance venue for a variety of live music and comedy shows.
But on movie Sundays, the Miller plays the part of its former self, its arcade filled with families and concession stands selling popcorn and candy. “I just like coming to the old movie theaters,” says Brad Love, who attends with his wife Holly and two children. “It reminds me of being a kid. Like the new [movie theaters] are really cool and everything, but this is where it all started for me, and it never really lost its luster.”
Brad’s son Augustus has brought his own copy of Roald Dahl’s Matilda, the novel on which the movie is based. He and his sister Marigold have arms filled with snacks and look like they could be students at Crunchem Hall, the school Matilda attends in the film. People often dress up for Movies at the Miller, the first twenty to do so receiving a voucher for free popcorn.
“Of course, any [Disney] princess movie, all the little girls are dressed in their princess gowns,” remarks Katie Crenshaw, the operations supervisor. Crenshaw herself dressed in a shark onesie for Jaws, which drew over 850 moviegoers last July—the Miller’s biggest ever turnout for its movie series. Crenshaw also customizes the theater’s specialty cocktails. Today’s is “Ms. Honey’s Tea”. For Lilo & Stitch concessions served the “’Ohana Colada”.
“I think what’s great is you can be as involved as you want to be,” says Brooks. “If you want to just come watch a free movie because you like the movie, you can absolutely do that. If you want to come dressed in theme, to have a cocktail that’s themed for the movie, [and] really make it a whole shebang, that’s also encouraged.” Volunteer usher Terry remembers women dressed in poodle skirts and wearing ponytails for Grease. The theater itself also “dresses up” on occasion, parking a DeLorean out front for Back to the Future and a themed Jeep for Jurassic Park. Both cars were borrowed locally from CNC Automotive.
Some, like the Loves, are regulars, attending a dozen movies over the past few years. Others, including Shay Shells and her family, are new. “First time,” says Shells, “I saw it on Facebook and sent it to the group chat.” She is excited for Matilda because she is “from that era.” And a young couple, newly stationed at Fort Gordon, saw the marquee when driving by. “It’s one of our favorite movies,” says Luís Llama. “I like the old school look of [the theater], and I know she (gesturing to his girlfriend Audrey) likes this kind of vibe as well.”
That’s very much the draw, according to Brooks: “The Miller, the atmosphere of it, you feel like you’re walking back in time. You truly feel from the moment you step through the doors of the arcade that you have been transported. I think that every small detail was thought about when they did the renovations and you just can’t replicate that [Arte Moderne style]. I also think that the smell of popcorn hitting you as you open the doors and walk in, and the way that the arcade in the Miller kind of echoes, it’s exciting.”
The crowd settles into their seats as the lights go down around 2PM. A short introduction video from Queensborough plays first, and then the movie begins. The energy is noticeably different from a showing at a “regular” theater. Children’s laughter ripples through the hall at Matilda’s antics. Older patrons let loose belly laughs for the over-the-top villainous parents played by Rhea Perlman and Danny Devito (who also directed the film).
“I love hearing the chatter and the joy, especially when it’s a large number of people in the auditorium,” comments Brooks. “The joy of laughing with a stranger is just so special.”
Asked what makes Miller movies different, operations manager Reeves Altman remarks, “Well, there’s not 50 minutes of commercials before the movie starts. And it’s definitely more laid back, in a good way. I think with it being free, that is something that stands out because the movie prices seem to be going up with no explanation as to why.”
Free tickets are paramount to the mission of Movies at the Miller, explains Brooks: “If you’ve ever been in elementary school and you maybe didn’t have a lot of money and you hear all the kids around you talk about what they did last weekend, [but] you don’t ever get to share, you do feel different. But now we’re giving kids an opportunity [where] they can go back to school and say, ‘I went to the movie theater.’ That’s something to me that is so important.”
The movie is short, and its runtime (including a much-appreciated 20-minute intermission) means people are shuffling out of the theater by 4PM. They laugh and mill about the entrance, the day still young. Some take flyers containing a schedule of the year’s showings. Many excitedly note the next movie on April 19th: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial.
But for Operations Manager Reeves Altman, there is one movie he is looking forward to above all others: “August. Cars. Be there.”
You can see this year’s schedule and claim your free tickets at millertheateraugusta.com
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