Downtown theater thriving since reopening
By Ashley Luthans
Since its long-awaited grand reopening last July, the Trail Theatre has found success uniting old traditions with new ideas.
The Trail began as a traditional movie theater in 1951 and operated as such for more than five decades. The theater closed in 2007 but reopened under new management last year.
Susan Montee, owner of The Trail, said seeing guests come out has been gratifying.
“Just actually opening the doors and having people be able to come inside was a really, really fulfilling part for me,” Montee said.
The Trail, located at 111 N. Ninth St., began showing older movies in October, beginning with 1985’s “Clue.” More movie screenings are on the way in February as well, with plans to show “Groundhog Day,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “10 Things I Hate About You” and more.
The theater has more than just movies, though. Staff also plan on hosting a variety of events for the St. Joseph community.
“Our long-range plan is to have a lot more live events,” Montee said. “We’re the perfect size for comedy. We set it up so that we can have tables down front, things like that. So we plan on doing, launching our kind of live other things coming in the spring when it’s a little bit nicer weather. We want to just be open and be a good part of the Downtown community, and so we’re really excited about all of our opportunities that way.”
The Trail will be hosting a “’Pulp Fiction Cocktail Flight” event with Mokaska Coffee at 7. p.m., Jan. 25, at 705 Edmond St., and on Jan. 26-28, the theater will be showing 1994’s “Pulp Fiction.” Tickets for the event are available to purchase at mokaska.com/shop/cocktail-flight for $15.
For upcoming shows, tickets are $10 for adults and $7.50 for children aged 12 and under, with matinee tickets (showings before 6 p.m.) costing $7 for adults and $5 for children.
To purchase tickets or find more details about upcoming showtimes and events, visit thetrailtheatre.com.
