Suffolk Theater's Second Act

There was a time when the Suffolk Theater in Riverhead was known as the “Radio City Music Hall of Long Island.”

On opening night, December 30, 1933, more than 2,000 people turned out. The majority must have waited in the streets. There were just 600 seats inside.

For many years, Suffolk Theater was the pulse of the downtown area—a steady heartbeat during the Great Depression that provided a physical, mental and emotional escape from reality to the movies. It was built as a National Recovery Act project and was also an official issuing agent for U.S. war bonds during World War II. The theater became a meeting spot for local organizations, including the Long Island Farm Bureau.

In 1987, a shifting economy and the birth of the multiplex forced the theater to shut its doors. For nearly three decades, it has sat dormant. Sleeping, resting and waiting for its return.

That day has come.

“As we say in theater, ‘You wait to take your cue,’” Suffolk Theater Executive Director Bob Spiotto said during a tour of the building last week. “The theater was waiting for a cue to be taken, for a cue to be given and for somebody to come along and say, ‘We need to save this place.’ And that is exactly what Bob and Dianne Castaldi have done. They’ve saved this theater.”

The date was February 17, 2005—one that Mr. Castaldi can immediately recall. His wife had read in the local newspaper that Riverhead Town was selling the theater, which was purchased in 1994 and still sat vacant.

Conveniently, the couple was looking to invest. They wanted a project.

“We walked in and said, ‘Holy mackerel.’ Eight years ago, two days ago,” Mr. Castaldi mused, looking around the theater. “I thought it was beautiful and it was worth saving. There are none of these left. They were all knocked down or switched over or hacked up during the ’80s. Everything was here. All the pieces were here. It just needed to be redone. It’s like restoring a nice old Duesenberg.”

Following the same automotive theme, Mr. Castaldi compared the building to a car left to rot in the woods for 20 years, exposed to the elements. The theater, which the Castaldis purchased for approximately $700,000, was an absolute disaster, he reported. There was no heat, countless leaks and mildew growing all over the walls. And that was just the beginning.

Merely gutting and whitewashing the theater was never an option.

“Too easy,” Mr. Castaldi said simply. “Challenge. Nothing like a good challenge.”

The extensive restoration, which has cost in the neighborhood of $6 million, began full force in 2010. And there is not one square inch—inside, outside or behind the walls—that the crew did not touch, Mr. Castaldi said.

Aside from installing new plumbing, electric, surround sound and heating systems, the crew scraped back layers of paint to get to the original color; the 600 plush, red theater seats have been replaced with cabaret-style tables and chairs; and they built new bathrooms, bar areas and a kitchen.

However, much of the theater looks just as it did 80 years ago. To keep with the original Art Deco look, the crew matched up the new wall coverings, carpets and wood detailing so that they would flow with the existing, circa-1933 woodwork around the stage, tiling in the lobby and lighting fixtures, murals and carvings throughout the building.

“We thought of this as a rebirth. This is a revival,” Mr. Spiotto said. “This is a creative phoenix rising not so much from ashes, but from dust that has collected over the years. This space is a show in it and of itself. This space is worth celebrating. So we felt, in keeping with the celebration theme, let’s have a party.”

On Saturday, March 2, Suffolk Theater will repeat history with a grand opening gala—complete with 1930s attire, movie premiere spotlights and antique cars parked out front. Live music inside by Grammy Award-winning, 11-piece band Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks will be heard from the street, pumping out from underneath the original marquee now fitted with speakers and LED displays.

Mr. Giordano’s set list will include a medley of tunes associated with the great studios of the 1930s and their films, including “Footlight Parade,” the first film screened at Suffolk Theater, he explained during a telephone interview last week from his Brooklyn-based headquarters.

After his band’s three-hour performance wraps up at 9 p.m., DJ Aly Di Nas will take over for the after party.

“I think it’s marvelous that someone has the courage and the great foresight to keep this tradition going,” Mr. Giordano said of the theater. “You can’t build something like this anymore. They were really great pieces of art. Films are my second love to music, so this is something that really came together nicely, where we’re playing music of the era in a film theater that is harking back to those wonderful, glorious days.”

For the first time in its history, the Suffolk Theater will host a vast array of live performances, from jazz quartets and big bands to psychic mediums and dance parties. But that doesn’t mean the movies are taking a back seat. On Monday, March 4, the theater will kick off its film program with a screening of “The Majestic,” the 2001 flick about one man’s dream to reopen and revitalize a theater.

“The goal is not to show first-run films. We don’t want that experience in here,” Mr. Spiotto said. “If you want to go see ‘Spiderman’ and feel like you’ve gotten hit in the face with a web, there are plenty of other theaters to go and have that kind of experience. I think a lot of people are looking back in order to move ahead.”

The second phase of Mr. Castaldi’s vision for the theater includes blowing out the back wall and building a 30- to 40-foot-deep stage, as well as a facility that will house rehearsal studios, additional offices, storage and perhaps a rooftop garden reception area.

But for now, one step at a time, he said. First, they need to get through the opening.

“This theater needed to be saved. Would it have not been a shame to lose this?” Mr. Castaldi said, giving the original ticket booth in the lobby an affectionate pat. “That’s why there are none left on Long Island, because they’re so easy to knock down. Putting up sheetrock and painting over it, that’s the easy way. It’s been here 80 years, hopefully it’s here for another 180 years. We built it good enough, God only knows.”

He chuckled, and continued, “It’s one thing I must say: for 1933, they really built it well. I really don’t think there’s anything like this on Long Island. I think it’s good for Riverhead. I think it’s going to bring the whole town back.”

The Suffolk Theater in Riverhead will open with a “Back to the ’30s” cocktail party featuring Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks, dancing, food, cocktails, costumed characters and more surprises on Saturday, March 2, from 6 p.m. to midnight. Dress in 1930s best. Tickets are $125 and include two complimentary drinks. The after party, with DJ Aly Di Nas, starts at 9 p.m. Tickets are $40. For more information, call 727-4343 or visit suffolktheater.com.