Odeum To Close For Summer While It Reorganizes

Less than five months after its grand reopening celebration, the Odeum announced Friday it would close for the summer and has named Bruce Rollins the new interim president, replacing longtime Odeum board president Frank Prosnitz. Prosnitz will remain a member of the board.

The action comes after disappointing turnout for some recent shows, including John DePetro’s “Live at the Odeum” series. Board members have confirmed that the Odeum is about $25,000 in debt.

“We decided to postpone our summer shows for three reasons,” said Rollins in an interview Friday. “We decided we wanted to concentrate on fundraising, to redesign and restock the board, and to figure out how we can become a true performing arts center. Having shows was going to distract us from those three things.”

In terms of fundraising, Rollins said they will be looking at "all options," including "grantors, businesses on Main Street, and civic organizations – I’m willing to talk to anyone in order to get this thing running."

He continued, "I want the Odeum to be an integral part of Main Street and I’d like Main Street to be supportive of us. I think we’re getting there."

Going forward, Bruce said, they will be looking at which shows worked and which didn't, as well as considering other feedback they've heard about what people want to see at the Odeum. 

For instance, he said, "People are talking about trying to bring in B-list bands, rather than just tribute bands, and running classic movies on Sunday afternoons."

Another idea is to try to coordinate with similar theaters in the area, such as the Stadium Theater in Woonsocket. 

The theater itself is in need of some attention, Rollins said, including the sound system, which was good for some recents show but not for others. 

As for Prosnitz’s transition from president to board member as well as other changes to the board, Rollins said it’s because the theater's needs have changed.

“We’ve had some turnover on the board,” he said. “We’ve had people on the board who brought a skill set on how to get the doors open. That was a great board but now we need a board that’s going to help us run a theater.”

Right now there are 9 members on the Odeum’s board. Rollins said he would like to see around 15 members. And while he said the board needs people who have skills in running a theater, those people need to be passionate about the Odeum too.

“Change is difficult,” Rollins said, noting the departure of Prosnitz as president. “I respect Frank. I know Frank. Frank has an institutional memory that is valuable.”

From a press release issued Friday: "The entire Board wishes to thank Frank for his passion and dedication in getting the Greenwich Odeum reopened after several years of being dark. Frank truly believed in the Odeum as a viable venue and he worked diligently to see the reopening become reality."

Rollins has been an Odeum board member for three years. He has a background in human services, retiring in 2010 as director of the Child Welfare Institute of Rhode Island College. He has been active on several nonprofit boards. 

There continues to be some controversy as to the ownership of the Odeum. The theater was owned and operated by the Erinakes family for decades as a movie house. It closed in 1990 but reopened as the nonprofit Greenwich Odeum in 1992. 

The Odeum closed in 2007, in part because of strict – and costly – fire regulations put in place after the 2003 Station Nightclub fire in West Warwick killed 100 people.

The town's decision to put the Odeum back on the property tax rolls in 2009 kickstarted efforts to reopen the theater, with Prosnitz and Steve Erinakes working together. A loosening of the fire code in 2010 provided additional motivation to reopen the theater, since suddenly the amount of money needed to be in fire-code compliance was significantly less.

The Odeum expanded its board of directors but at some point there was a falling out between Prosnitz and Erinakes, made more prominent when the Odeum board said the Odeum Corporation owned the theater. Erinakes has said he holds a mortgage on the theater that was never paid.