A Million-Dollar Third Act

Everything old can be new again.

The Million Dollar Theater, on Broadway at Third Street downtown, opened in 1918 as screen legends Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford graced its ornate portal amid a gaggle of photographers. During the 1920s, it was the place for Hollywood premieres, but by the 1950s the big movie crowds had moved to the suburbs.

Still, the theater had a good second act, screening Spanish-language films and showcasing the biggest stage performers from Mexico, South America and Spain.

In recent years, however, there’s been a slow slide for this architectural gem. Dark for seven years, the Million Dollar Theater became a site for evangelical revivals, and then it went dark again.

So it is heartening news that, beginning today, the theater will again host Latino stage shows. The Metropolitan Theaters Co., which has run the Million Dollar on and off since the 1940s, plans to offer two vaudeville-type acts known as variedades per month.

To be sure, success is not guaranteed. Broadway is crowded during the day but quickly empties when darkness falls. Will the families that shop along the boulevard stay on for the show, as they did years ago?

The historic El Capitan and Egyptian theaters, both restored to their film palace glory, once faced a similarly uncertain future in a dreary section of Hollywood. Now, both are successes that have given the neighborhood a big lift. We wish the same for the Million Dollar Theater as it takes another bow.