Wired: The Best Little Theater
BY KATE REYNOLDSPHOTOS BY DAVID DIETRICH
Once upon a time in America, movie night was much more than plopping down on the couch and ordering up some pay-per-view. Locals would gather at theaters that were gilded like royal palaces to partake in the ritual of the silver screen. It was a night to catch the latest Hollywood blockbuster, to mingle with friends and show off your best girl. To snuggle in the balcony beneath the soft glow of the Exit sign.
Jack and LaNita Cloninger haven’t forgotten. Avid film buffs, inveterate collectors of memorabilia, and good-time devotees, the couple have created a celluloid sanctuary in their Weaverville home. A perfect blend of nostalgia and high tech, their “Plaza” theater provides guests with a complete movie-going experience.
The inspiration was provided by their youthful excursions to the Asheville cinema. “The first time we went out, in the 7th grade, our parents drove us to see Frankie and Johnny starring Elvis Presley, at the old Plaza Theater,” says LaNita. “Over time, people would ask us ‘Don’t you two get tired of going to the movies every Friday and Saturday night?’ Well…no! That’s what we did when we were dating. We saw every Elvis movie, every James Bond film, and all those great Sinbad adventures.”
“Well the Plaza isn’t there anymore,” she smiles, “But it’s here!”The movie palaces of yesteryear have informed both the feel and flow of the staging for the Cloningers’ cinematic events. Theatergoers enter through a corridor lined with posters of former and coming attractions: The Princess Bride, Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman (“Great poster, awful movie,” grins Jack), The Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Godfather (“The finest film of all time,” he opines, “Coppola just nailed it!”).
The ‘lobby’ of the Plaza features all the requisite pre-show entertainments — pinball, video games, even a pool table. One might be tempted to linger with these amusements, but for the beguiling presence of a winsome, redheaded cashier in the art-deco ticket booth — a vintage mannequin, rescued from Jack’s mother’s shop in Pigeon Forge, who invites one to venture on.
And so, down a red carpet and on to the inner sanctum, with a brief stop at the concession stand to fortify yourself with fresh, hot buttered popcorn, fountain Coca-Cola and, perhaps, some Jujubes and Milk Duds (or, in the case of LaNita’s last birthday party, a perfectly blended Cosmopolitan).
Inside the darkened hall, the theater slopes downward in a series of four risers, stepped to provide optimal viewing and furnished with an eclectic mix of seating both new and old. Hearing that a movie house in Burnsville was closing its doors, the Cloningers salvaged several rows of classic seats to outfit the Plaza, and complemented them with plush, leather recliners — with popcorn holders, of course.
The audience settles in, the lights dim, the curtains part and the credits roll.
This is where it all comes together. As any film fan will attest, beyond the performances, the true miracle of the movies lies in the technology — the behind-the-scenes mechanics that provide the viewer with a seamless, enveloping experience. It is the magic carpet that transports you into another world.
“Jack really did his research with the equipment,” notes LaNita proudly. “He designed and wired the system himself.” His diligence has paid off.
The configuration is anchored by a DreamVision DLP — a digital light processing front projector — and a 10-foot by 7-foot-6-inch screen. With Klipsch speakers powered by a Dolby digital Harmon Kardon receiver, the audio goes beyond “surround sound.” The speaker system features two sub-woofers — a standard and a transducer. “We call it the butt rumbler,” says LaNita. “In certain scenes, you can literally feel the seat shaking underneath you like an earthquake!”
But if the Cloningers have their way, their friends and family won’t be giving a thought to any of that. They’ll be in the huddle at the Super Bowl, pursuing the Black Pearl with Captain Jack Sparrow, or flying with Superman.
In every detail, the Plaza is a testament to the grand tradition of the motion picture and the gracious art of entertaining. “I do believe,” says LaNita, “that this is the best little theater in north Buncombe County.”
That’s a take!
