By MICHELLE ORRIS

Journal Reporter

The downtown Des Plaines Theater will soon showcase everything from classic movies to live music, due to a contractual agreement between the theater owners and the Des Plaines Theater Preservation Society.

After months of negotiation, the two parties reached an agreement last Friday that will allow the society to act as a tenant of the facility and program some of its entertainment.

The theater has shown only Indian Bollywood films since owners Dhitu, Dharmesh and Ashwin Bhagwakar bought the facility in November 2003. The theater will continue showing Bollywood films, but the society will diversify its entertainment.

"We will have classic American movies, live theater, comedy, and we're looking to get fine art educators in the community and choirs," said Paul Saletnik, a member of the Des Plaines Theater Preservation Society.

The society will announce its first month of programming at an Open House Oct. 22 to 24.

With visions of turning the theater into a community fine arts center, the society plans to raise $4.5 million to renovate and restore the facility. In 1982, the 1,000-seat theater was partitioned into two smaller theaters, eliminating an orchestra pit and the large stage and proscenium. The preservation society plans to tear down the center dividing wall to recreate the 1920s-era theater, restoring the grand lanterns and plaster relief. The society has raised $15,000 so far, and restoration will not begin until all the money is raised, Saletnik said.

However, volunteers are starting maintenance work on the theater to prepare it for a larger audience. Volunteers will paint and repair the marquee, paint the theater's interior, fix some of the seats, put in new carpeting and do some general cleaning.

The theater's owners are paying for the cost of the maintenance materials, and the society is providing the volunteer labor. The theater's owners and the preservation society will separately fund different programming. Profits raised from the preservation society's programs will be funneled into the theater's restoration as well as the cost of the entertainment. The Theater Preservation Society is a non-profit organization.

Society members said the theater's broadened entertainment will be an economic catalyst for downtown redevelopment in Des Plaines.

"Right now, when Bollywood movies play, only Indian people go there and they don't spend too much money around downtown," said Saletnik. He said if more Des Plaines residents are drawn to the theater, they might also dine out or go for ice cream downtown, reinvigorating the pedestrian traffic. "We're putting on shows of broad diversity with something for all cultures," Saletnik said.

The society is looking for entertainers and musicians, as well as more volunteers to help with the theater's operation and maintenance. The society is hosting an Open House Oct. 22 to 24 to seek volunteers, launch a theater membership drive, "reacquaint" residents with the theater and "celebrate the return of films and concerts for the general public."

The society is considering Open House entertainment for all ages including barbershop quartets, string quartets, silent films, live bands and children's cartoons.

Theater society members hope they will have a fully operating weekly schedule by the holiday season. Entertainment will include films, documentaries, "themed weekends," lectures and festivals to spotlight featured artists. In the future, society members hope to work with local school districts and Chicago performance groups to have teen concerts, open mic nights, jazz concerts and programming for children and seniors.

Another ultimate goal for the preservation society is to permanently earmark the theater as a Nationally Registered Historical Place, ensuring its survival in the years to come. The theater was nearly demolished by the Des Plaines National Bank in late 2002, but the city would not approve the project.

Through the efforts of the preservation society, the theater is now eligible to become nationally registered pending the owner's approval. Saletnik said the theater owners will only approve the registration when they feel confident they can work well with the society and ensure that the building will remain a theater.