Violet Crown steps in to keep offering ‘The Screen’ performances

While cinephiles continue to wait to see if The Screen will somehow come back to life after closing last month, leaders of Violet Crown cinema in Santa Fe said they will run a series of filmed live performances of operas, plays and ballets that The Screen originally scheduled for this summer.

And so, Santa Feans can enjoy screenings of the Stratford Festival’s production of Timon of Athens and Romeo and Juliet, as well as a Spanish production of the Verdi’s opera Un Ballo in Maschera, among other offerings.

Peter Grendle, general manager of the Violet Crown, which is located in the Railyard, said Sunday that as a former programmer of “Performance at The Screen” — which showcases world-class opera, ballet and stage shows on film — he felt a need to do something.

“If there is anything that The Screen leaves on the table, if they do indeed have to close, we will do our darnedest to make sure those films would show here in Santa Fe,” he said.

Grendle said The Screen’s program director, Brent Kliewer, and general manager Charlotte Martinez, had stopped booking dates once they learned that Santa Fe University of Art and Design planned to close The Screen on April 30. The college, which has been operating the 160-seat cinema on the city-owned, midtown campus, is closing at the end of June, citing financial challenges and declining enrollment.

But The Screen still had at least five “Performance” programs slated for this summer, including an operatic version of Romeo and Juliet to be coproduced by the Santa Fe Opera. Grendle said Violent Crown will honor outstanding Performance passes and advance ticket purchases for The Screen’s “Performance” titles.

“We think it’s the best way to keep the spirit of The Screen alive in some fashion until the city of Santa Fe can figure its future out,” Grendle said.

Kliewer said in late April that he was working with city leaders to see if there is a way to keep The Screen operating separate of the college. City leaders and other community members have been looking for ways to come up with uses for the 64-acre campus, with ideas such as businesses offices to affordable housing units to an expanded movie studio being considered.

Kliewer did not respond to a phone call seeking comment Sunday.