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The Southampton Playhouse, a 1932 movie theater complex and fixture of Hamptons summers, is getting a significant makeover led by real estate billionaire Aby Rosen and his son, Charlie.
The duo are heading a group that is modernizing the Hill Street site, which will be run by a new not-for-profit organization and resume its year-round mission of serving moviegoers. A 161-seat Imax auditorium will be added to the mix – the only Imax screen within 40 miles – and programming will range from broad Hollywood titles to specialty films.
Barring any setbacks with construction, an opening is planned in the first quarter of 2025, with full operation targeted for next summer.
The geography of the Hamptons, a region on the East End of Long Island about 100 miles east of New York City, adds extra potency to the theatrical film experience. That became particularly evident during Covid, which shuttered theaters across New York state for nearly a year. Regal Cinemas, which was operating the Southampton site, opted not to reopen it when it was going through bankruptcy on the back side of the pandemic.
The space remained dormant until Rosen, who has had a residence in the town for 30 years, teamed with his son to acquire the property for $8 million. Rosen, an avid art collector, is known as an investor in commercial properties, including New York landmarks like the Chrysler and Seagram buildings.
Two key backers of the redevelopment project are Alex Black and Jack Heller. Black founded and runs Lyrical Media, a production and finance company whose upcoming projects include Michael Sarnoski’s The Death of Robin Hood, starring Hugh Jackman and Jodie Comer. Lyrical is also a producer with A24 on Adam Wingard’s action thriller Onslaught.
Heller is a filmmaker and the principal of Assemble Media, a production and IP company developing and producing projects across film, TV and publishing. Heller has production credits on 30 film and TV projects and has directed two feature films.
In an interview with Deadline, Black said the guiding principle of the revamp is to preserve and improve a longtime gathering place. “We really want this to feel like an anchor for the community,” he said. “All of us remember seeing films here when we were young and feeling that shared experience. We want that to continue to flourish.”
Talks are underway with the Hamptons Film Festival, held every October in various sites in the area, about making Southampton a part of the footprint.
One of the auditoriums has flexible seating, which will allow it to be used for live events, with music, talks and comedy all possibilities. There will also be newly landscaped outdoor space for pop-up screenings of movies or live sporting events. Given Imax’s capabilities, the aim is also to have that theater made available to school groups and other audiences for documentaries and other educational fare.
“I’m personally very excited because I live down the road from Southampton Playhouse, I know how passionate people in that community are about movies and the arts, and I think this will be a special place where people really want to gather and celebrate cinema,” Imax CEO Rich Gelfond said in a statement provided to Deadline.
Also joining the board of the theater are Sims Lansing, founder and managing partner of equity investment fund Lansing Management; and James Nederlander, president of the Nederlander Theater.
More board members will be added and an advisory board is also being formed.
