Tickets.com Client Spotlight: Wellmont Theatre

Wellmont opens to rave reviews
(by George Wirt - October 30, 2008)

It was a day late, but still great.

That’s what music fans had to say about one of the most anticipated opening nights in Montclair in years as nearly 2,000 patrons poured into the newly renovated Wellmont Theatre to witness Counting Crows inaugurate North Jersey’s newest venue for live performances.

"It’s an awesome place," said first-nighter Rudy Putignano, who came with his wife Terry. "It reminds me a lot of the old Capital Theater in Passaic. It’s a real classic"

"We came down on Monday night, and we were a little disappointed when they had to postpone it," said Terry Putignano, "But it was worth the wait."

The Putignanos were among the Counting Crows fans, music lovers, local officials and the just plain curious who put down $75 a ticket to get a first glimpse inside the new Wellmont Theatre.

Opening night had originally been set for Monday, but was pushed back to Tuesday evening after Crows lead singer Adam Duritz, who has been battling the flu, was unable to perform for the first of three consecutive nights at the new Wellmont.

Concertgoers who purchased tickets for the Crows’ Wednesday show saw the group last night, while Crows fans with tickets for the Crows’ third and final appearance in Montclair during this stop on their tour, will see the group tonight.

"We’re all excited," said Jim Glancy, a partner in the Bowery Presents, a company that bought the Wellmont and restored it to its former glory. "There’s a real buzz. Everywhere I went in town I heard people talking about the Wellmont and which performers they want to see."

The landmark Montclair theater first opened its doors as a venue for live performances in back in 1922 and became a classic neighborhood movie theater in 1929. But changing movie viewing habits and the digital revolution and the movies on CDs took its toll on the venerable theater.

The Wellmont’s former owners converted it into to a triplex, obscuring the theater’s palace-like grandeur which made it so special to earlier generations of Montclair moviegoers. But by 2006, with business plunging, the Wellmont shut down.

The theater was subsequently purchased by Glancy’s group, which then launched an 8-month-long restoration project. The old triplex was carefully demolished and the painstaking reconstruction and restoration process began, culminating in this week’s opening.

"I remember coming here in the old days with the stale popcorn, chewing gum on the seats and the stick floors," said 2nd Ward Township Councilman Cary Africk. "They done a careful and loving restoration."

Local officials hope the new Wellmont will help reinvigorate Montclair’s Central Business District along Bloomfield Avenue.

"You can come to the Wellmont and see great live music and entertainment, have a great meal at a local restaurant, and do it all right here in Montclair without having to go into New York," said 1st Ward Councilman Rich Murnick, who sat with Africk during Counting Crows’ performance.

The Wellmont is expected to attract throngs through the next several months with an announced lineup of upcoming concert appearances that includes Duran Duran, B.B. King, Tony Bennett, Steely Dan, Hanson, Brian Wilson and many more.

The Wellmont crowds are expected to have a decidedly Jersey flavor. Spokesperson Gretchen Wagner said the Wellmont is drawing a predominately New Jersey audience. "Our tracking on the online ticket purchases showed that 90 per cent of them were coming from North Jersey," she said.

To help make sure that the concert-goers enjoy a pleasant experience while in Montclair, municipal officials have taken steps to make parking easier.

The Montclair Parking Authority has provided the Wellmont ticket-holders with access to nearly 800 parking spaces at three nearby lots. Parking will be available at the Walnut Street Lot and the Bay Street Station Deck starting from two hours before show-time. For evening shows, hours are from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. There are 150 spots per deck, and both are walking distance from the theater.

Additional spots are available at DCH, a parking deck owned by DCH Auto Group, located about six blocks from the Wellmont off Bloomfield Avenue, on Orange Road. Concertgoers can also pre-buy parking for $15 per show at the Wellmont Theatre box office or when purchasing tickets on Tickets.com.

Doors at the Wellmont open at 7 p.m. and the concert begins at 8 p.m.

For concert information or to check ticket availability, visit the Wellmont Theatre’s box office at 5 Seymour Street, or go online at wellmonttheatre.com. Tickets can also be purchased at Tickets.com.

Contact George Wirt at wirt@montclairtimes.com.