The Denis Theatre Rises Again

I'm happy to welcome Teri Coyne, former Mt. Lebanonite and full-time great writer, to the Act 2 Blog. Here is her favorite memory of the Denis:

"We moved to Shady Drive East when I was less than a year old in 1961 and lived there until I was twelve in 1973. As far as an idyllic childhood location goes, you could not have picked a better place. Down the street from us was McKeen’s a small mom and pop convenience store that carried life’s necessities, the most essential for me was penny candy, tons of it.

Upstreet, as we called it, was in the other direction and included a long walk up a steep hill. For me, the crown jewel of our small town was the Denis Theatre with its big gleaming marquee extending itself onto the sidewalk and burning brightly at night, a beacon to worlds far away from Mt. Lebanon. It was like having a time machine up the street. Depending on what movies were playing, you could be transported anywhere real or imagined. My best memory of the Denis Theatre was the first time I went to the movies without my parents.

Gone With the Wind

"Looking back, I wonder now if my parents were just looking for an excuse to get my older sister and I out of the house for the afternoon or if my father was telling the truth when he said there was an important movie he and needed us to see. That movie was Gone with the Wind.

"It was the first movie my sister and I saw completely on our own. My father gave us money for admission and, a rarity in our house, he gave us extra for popcorn and candy.

"My sister and I made the trek upstreet and bought our tickets without a hitch, back then no one blinked when two girls, ages ten and nine wanted to see a three hour movie filled with battle scenes and adult themes. (We didn’t get off that easily a few years later when my parents bought us tickets to see HAIR by ourselves at the Stanley Theatre.)

"The movie was showing in theatre one which involved a ticket tear at the top of the stairs and then a walk down a sloping carpeted ramp that lead to matinee Mecca, the refreshment counter. Just saying the word refreshment made my mouth water. My sister, Tami anteed up the money for a tub of popcorn.

“With butter?” the movie concessionaire asked us. When he told us it free we told him to pour it on. We had a tense moment over junior mints or milk duds. Milk duds won after I offered to let Tami hold the popcorn (which in kid logic meant she would get a lot more than I would.) We got change so we could get the best treat of all, a grape soda from the automatic dispenser machine.

"We put two nickels in the slot and waited as paper cup dropped into the metal hands that held it. Once secured, crushed ice cascaded down and then two streams of liquid, one was the purple syrup and the other was that magical and mysterious substance that made a sweet drink bubbly. It was hard to wait for the last drop but harder still to imagine losing any of it to the perforated drip tray below. The cup swished with ice as I took my first heavenly sip.

"Armed with more food than Scarlett had when she pulled the carrot out of the ground and swore she would never go hungry again, my sister and I entered the theatre and had our pick of seats. Back then we thought sitting close was where it was at so we got as close as we could.

"I remember the feel of the air-conditioning on my back, wiping my greasy popcorn fingers on my shorts, covering my face when they cut that soldiers leg off and a peculiar feeling of longing when Rhett carries Scarlett up the stairs. I remember the sweetness of that grape soda and being awestruck when the camera pulls away from Scarlett into a long shot of her walking by hundreds of wounded soldiers. When the movie was over, my sister and I made our way to the lobby where the light was so bright it hurt your pupils. We were back home in time for dinner where the topic of discussion was our great adventure upstreet. While it was a first, it would not be the last time the Denis Theatre was a supporting player in a fond memory.

"I am happy to support the efforts of The Denis Theatre Foundation and am sure that, like the South, the Denis Theatre will rise again."

Blurb about me:Teri Coyne grew up in Mt. Lebanon and while she has lived in New York for over 30 years, she still says “Pittsburgh” whenever she is asked where she is from. She divides her time between New York City and the North Fork of Long Island. Teri is the author of the novel The Last Bridge which will be published by Random House in July of 2009. For more info visit www.tericoyne.com.