I fondly recall going here with my mother to see big blockbusters like The Ten Commandments and The King and I. This is where my love of movies was sparked.
On a Saturday in the fifties, you could take a dollar to downtown Benson, get a haircut at Porter’s barbershop, go next door and get a ticket for all-afternoon picture shows at the Princess, buy a Pepsi, Baby Ruth, and popcorn, and still have a dime left over for Sunday school collection plate.
From 2005 and until 2013, the theater staged community theatrical productions. Since that time, each year has seen staging of 3-4 different live music productions to raise funds for renovations. Each production typically ran for 3 weekends. The spring show was thematic covering different eras; the summer show was fifties/sixties rock and roll, and the last production of the year was a Christmas show. Plans were underway in late 2019 for reconstruction of the wood building section behind the proscenium, but were halted due to the pandemic. At this point, the backstage area is walled off beyond the proscenium. Future plans are dependent on “the new normal”.
Watched “The Greatest Show on Earth” here in 1952.
The actual location was slightly farther north, with entry from 301, and the north side of the theater grounds running next to 242.
I fondly recall going here with my mother to see big blockbusters like The Ten Commandments and The King and I. This is where my love of movies was sparked.
On a Saturday in the fifties, you could take a dollar to downtown Benson, get a haircut at Porter’s barbershop, go next door and get a ticket for all-afternoon picture shows at the Princess, buy a Pepsi, Baby Ruth, and popcorn, and still have a dime left over for Sunday school collection plate.
From 2005 and until 2013, the theater staged community theatrical productions. Since that time, each year has seen staging of 3-4 different live music productions to raise funds for renovations. Each production typically ran for 3 weekends. The spring show was thematic covering different eras; the summer show was fifties/sixties rock and roll, and the last production of the year was a Christmas show. Plans were underway in late 2019 for reconstruction of the wood building section behind the proscenium, but were halted due to the pandemic. At this point, the backstage area is walled off beyond the proscenium. Future plans are dependent on “the new normal”.