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Maplewood's Plaza Theater reopening, tickets still $5
After it shut down six years ago during the pandemic, the Plaza Theater in Maplewood is set to reopen and welcome customers back. The nearly 60-year-old theater is now owned by the Woodland Hills Church next door. A team from the church worked to renovate the iconic venue. They say it’s important to keep prices affordable, so all tickets are still $5 just like the old days.
MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (FOX 9) - The Plaza Theater has called the corner of Larpenteur Avenue East and White Bear Avenue home for nearly 60 years, and now it's ready to welcome the community back through its doors.
The comeback
The Plaza Theater in Maplewood shut down in 2020 during the pandemic. Woodland Hills Church, which sits next door and owns the theater, spent the last several months renovating the space — fixing the piping and plumbing inside and updating the bathrooms.
What we know:
The theater has been a fixture on the East Side near Aldrich Arena since 1967. Team members from Woodland Hills Church say the Plaza has always been a community space — and that mission isn't changing.
"It's been part of the fabric of this community, even part of the identity of this community, for almost 60 years," said Greg Boyd, Woodland Hills Senior Pastor. "And we think that's really important because we think community is really important, especially in our age where people are feeling increasingly fragmented and isolated."
Troy Zambrano, Woodland Hills Facilities Director, echoed that sentiment and shared his hopes for what the theater can grow into.
"My hope for the theater is that it sustains itself and that we're able to always have it at low, lower income pricing," said Zambrano. "And then actually, one of my hopes is that eventually that we could do some different events out in our parking lot that actually draws in the community."
Keeping it affordable
By the numbers:
All tickets at The Plaza are $5 — keeping prices in line with what moviegoers remember from the old days. The team says making the theater accessible and affordable to everyone was a priority when they decided to reopen.
What they're saying:
"I actually think it'd be great to be able to bring in the communities, have a very diverse culture here, and be able to bring in people that literally can't afford," said Zambrano. "And we got affordable prices and stuff like that. So I just look forward to being able to have a community that can get together and understand that everybody's welcome."
The opening weekend features second-run and retro films, including "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie", "Project Hail Mary," "Hoppers" and "Steel Magnolias", playing in honor of the late Dolly Parton.
Job program for teens, young adults
Why you should care:
Beyond showing movies, the Plaza is also bringing back the "Up Next" job skills program, which hires teens and young adults and gives them hands-on work experience and mentorship.
Sandra Unger, the director of Up Next, says the combination of community programming and workforce development makes The Plaza special.
"We're owned by a church next door," said Unger. "And so the idea is all of our property here, we want to use for the good of the community. And so running a movie theater is really important for the community, and we love that. But if we can combine it with also helping kids who really need that extra support," she said, "then it's just a win-win-win-win-win."
To see show times for all movies playing at The Plaza, click here.
The Source: Chenue Her interviewed Woodland Hills Church staff and the director of the Up Next program. This story also uses information from The Plaza Theater website.