The Riviera Theatre's executive director, Frank Cannata, says that a venue that has a Wurlitzer organ should play it whenever it can—which is exactly what the Riviera does, at every performance. A series of special programs is in the works for Halloween week.

If you have never seen F.W. Murnau’s classic 1922 silent horror classic, Nosferatu, or Rupert Julian’s 1925 silent horror classic, The Phantom of the Opera, the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda is providing the perfect occasion and the perfect setting. Built as a silent movie house in 1926 and still home to its original Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ, the Riviera was literally made for films like these. This Halloween, the Riviera returns to its roots with screenings of these classic films with accompaniment by organists Ivan Docenko and Bruce Woody on the Mighty Wurlitzer.

“We were looking for something different to do for Halloween,” explains Riviera executive director Frank Cannata. “There are a lot of options out there, from Halloween parties to haunted houses. We decided to return to our roots: silent films with live organ accompaniment. We’ve got the original Phantom of the Opera and once again, we’ve got the original vampire movie, Nosferatu, which we have shown before. What’s wonderful about that, is that we again have organist Ivan Docenko, who will again play his own original Nosferatu score. Phantom of the Opera with Bruce Woody is new this year.”

Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror is the oldest surviving screen adaptation of Bram Stoker’s classic novel, Dracula. The film is widely regarded to be German director Murnau’s artistic breakthrough—the realization of his earlier efforts in Expressionism, and the film that paved the way to his 1924 film, Last Laugh, which would attract the attention of Hollywood. Nosferatu is notable for Murnau’s eye-popping use of extreme camera angles, superimposed images, real locations and special effects.

The Phantom of the Opera is high melodrama with a romantic core. Starring the great Lon Chaney, Jr.—“the man with a thousand faces”—in a tour de force performance, the film holds up remarkably well, with its perfect blend of horror, romance and camp humor.

“At the Riviera, we show silent films once a month as part of our monthly organ concert series,” says Cannata. “But in that series we only show short comedy films. This is a chance to see two major full-length silent feature films, properly screened with proper accompaniment.”

Cannata became the new executive director of the Riviera on March 1, 2006. Charged to increase revenue and programming, he knew he had challenges before him; he also knew that the Riviera has several unique advantages.

“To begin,” says Cannata, “the historic value of the theater is undeniable.”

The Riviera opened its doors to the public for the first time on December 30, 1926. The featured attraction was Upstage starring Norma Shearer, with a Technicolor film called “The Mona Lisa,” a short comedy, and a newsreel. Organist Fred Meyer accompanied the films on the Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ.

Eventually the Riviera would go through a number of transformations in its programming. Various forms of live entertainment were introduced. The change that undeniably had the largest impact, however, occurred when the Riviera was less than a year old. In 1927, Warner Bros. released the first “talking” picture, The Jazz Singer, starring vaudevillian superstar Al Jolson, forever changing the landscape of American entertainment. The event would signal the decline and demise of silent film, vaudeville and Wurlitzer organs.

In that sense, the Riviera is a kind of a time machine, able to transport audiences back to an otherwise extinct form of entertainment. “We are one of very few theaters that still uses the original carbon-arc projectors,” boasts Cannata, who is well aware of the good fortune that preserved the Riviera.

The Riviera has other advantages as well.

“And we are conveniently located,” says Cannata, who adds with a laugh, “I know in the minds of Buffalonians we seem far away, but in reality, we are just 10 miles from City Hall. I know, because I have driven it so many times. Go around the circle in Niagara Square, north to Tonawanda, just across the bridge and there we are in North Tonawanda. Ten miles! And we have enough free parking in the vicinity for all 1,150 patrons.”

For Cannata, the trick is to find ways to leverage the Riviera’s substantial advantages. He’s already had considerable success by building on the best of the Riviera’s existing programming. You’ve got a Mighty Wurlitzer? Play it!

“We feature the Mighty Wurlitzer for a half an hour before every event,” says Cannata. “Every time you come to an event at the Riviera Theatre, you will hear the Mighty Wurlitzer organ.”

Cannata is proud of his efforts to bring major organists into the facility.

“We had Jelani Eddington, who is one of the top five organists in the country. We were able to bring him here through a special grant from the Niagara Council of the Arts. He put on a phenomenal concert, and is coming back in June. I’ve got to tell you, he was very impressed with our theater and he helped facilitate a partnership between us and the Casa Loma in Toronto and the Kingston Organ Society, also in Ontario. We are now able to share the costs of bringing major artists to the region with those organizations. Individually, none of us would be able to afford that. So for our 2007 season we have been able to book some very high profile artists to play our Mighty Wurlitzer Pipe Organ. And our prices are very reasonable; you get 12 concerts for $55 if you join the Riviera Theatre and Organ Preservation Society.

“A big draw for these international artists is our region. They come to our theater, and then we usually take them to Niagara Falls, we show them churches in Buffalo—Holy Trinity, St. Paul’s Cathedral, to see the church organs. When we can, we let them see the organ at Shea’s. And then, to top it off, I take them to the Wurlitzer factory. To an organist, it’s like Mecca!”

Cannata describes the childlike awe experienced by world class organists seeing the Wurlitzer building for the first time.

“Even though it is an industrial park now, to see the look on their faces when I drive them down Niagara Falls Boulevard and they see the Wurlitzer tower. They recognize it. All their lives they’ve read about it; they’ve seen pictures. But they never anticipate driving up and being in front of the Wurlitzer building. It’s like the first time I saw the Capitol Building in Washington, DC. They go inside and they always want to have their pictures taken on the grand staircase.”

Cannata’s enthusiasm for North Tonawanda is boundless. He sees some obvious opportunities for cultural tourism.

“We are trying to help develop the tours to Tonawanda. We’ve hooked up with Olympic Tours and the Riviera has partnered with the Carousel Museum and the Benjamin Long Homestead to offer one-day bus tours to see each facility. At the Riviera, visitors see a short silent movie, hear an organ concert and take a tour of the facility. And don’t forget, the Erie Canal is an attraction. It’s just steps away from our front door. Unfortunately, there is not currently a boat tour. Large boats cannot get under the bridges. But if there is somebody entrepreneurial out there, they’d be most welcome!”

Indeed, the ride up the Erie Canal from North Tonawanda is exquisitely beautiful. If they can run boat tours up the muddy Mississippi, why not the Erie Canal?

Given his Tonawanda location, Cannata feels a strong commitment to family programming.

“Our programming is reasonably priced and very accessible. The organ concerts are $10 individually. They play show music. Michael Xavier Lundy was just at the Riviera and he played a medley of songs from Harry Potter.

“Our YWCA family movie series used to be twice a month; now we do it every Saturday at a charge of $2 per kid. It’s extremely popular. We show second run movies that have not yet been released on DVD. You can take your child to see Cars, or Ice Age II the Big Meltdown and pay $2 instead of $6.50. And our concessions are much cheaper too. This weekend we have Monster House.

“We’ll have The Nutcracker in December with the Lockport City Ballet. Now, we don’t have the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, and so I cannot compare the quality of the experience from that perspective. But if you have an eight-year-old and you want to expose that child to live entertainment, ballet and classical music, we are a more affordable option for you. For young children, the American Legion Band is first rate, and you can see them for $7 here.

“When I was a child, our school took us on lots of field trips. We went to the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra every year. Today, more of that responsibility goes to parents. If you want your children to become culturally aware, you need to be able to find affordable and appropriate opportunities for them. That is what we seek to provide at the Riviera Theatre—quality entertainment that you can afford to take your entire family to.

“And we also want to be affordable as a rental facility, so that arts opportunities can proliferate here. You can rent the Riviera Theatre for $1,500 a night. And if you are a registered not-for-profit, with a 501-3C, you can rent the Riviera for as little as $750 a night. It is even less during the week. It is the region’s most affordable large venue house.”

What is in the future for the Riviera Theatre?

“Since I’ve been there,” Cannata reveals, “the number one concern of our patrons has been bathrooms.” He laughs at his prosaic response. “I cannot imagine that they were adequate in 1926 actually—not with the number of seats we have. But with the way the building is situated on the land, there is no room to expand any bathroom facilities. So we are interested to acquire an adjacent piece of property and to expand that way. We are talking with the owner of the building next door about buying their building. It’s an 8,000 square foot building with 250 feet of storefront footage on Main Street. They have agreed in principle, but they are a thriving business. It is a transmission shop, Competition Transmission, and they are looking to find a place to relocate their business. My hope is that we can acquire that space and use it to make additional bathrooms and expand our dressing room space to allow bigger shows to come in. Right now we don’t have any shower facilities, so we can’t bring in union shows. You have to have cots and showers, and so forth.”

Since assuming leadership at the Riviera, Cannata has doubled the professional staff, which is to say he has hired one person. “Just a month ago I hired David Bondrow. The job is too much for one person. The Riviera is famous for the many volunteers and for the wonderful job they have done to protect the theater, and good heavens, of maintaining the organ, which is a huge job! We could not exist without our volunteers. But you cannot run a business with a volunteer staff. When vendors come with deliveries, there has to be continuity. I met David when he came to me with a proposal to produce Grease with John Stevens from American Idol. That show was very successful and we developed a good rapport.

“At the moment, our needs are very basic. When I took over, they were in considerable debt. We still face debt. One of the biggest challenges is just covering utility bills in a space this size. They had not applied for a grant since 1993, except for government grants. And we just did get a big federal grant with the help of Congressman Tom Reynolds. But we’re beginning that process of finding other funding sources. I think we’ll be successful, because we are such a regional asset.