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As summer arrives in Chicago and the city continues to reopen, we're experiencing many places, pastimes and events again for the first time in more than a year. Throughout the coming months, Time Out Chicago editors will be chronicling their experiences returning to beloved haunts through a series we're calling Back At It. As we immerse ourselves in places and events that we once regularly frequented, we'll let you know what has changed, what's stayed the same and how you can get in on the fun.
I bought a Music Box Theatre membership on March 8, 2020 in anticipation of the independent theater's annual 70mm Film Festival. By the following week, I didn't feel comfortable sitting in a room full of strangers and decided against attending any of the screenings I'd purchased tickets for—and a week later, the Music Box announced its temporary closure.
It could have felt like extremely bad timing to become a member at a local movie theater just a few days before the onset of a global pandemic, but the folks at the Music Box made sure that members could enjoy the theater's offerings from afar. Since last April, I've watched a string of complimentary virtual movie screenings, including the Norwegian thriller The Tunnel and the surreal Quentin Dupieux crime film, Keep An Eye Out. Renewing my membership in March was a no-brainer even though I hadn't stepped foot in the theater since a year prior. I wanted to do my part to help make sure the Music Box would still be there when I was ready to return to the cinema in-person.
A few weeks ago, I found myself inside of the Music Box for the first time in more than 15 months, accompanying a friend to a screening of the sprawling 1995 Michael Mann heist thriller Heat. We wore masks (still a requirement, at least for the time being) and sat in a pair of seats that aren't currently taped off inside the 750-seat main auditorium. The screening I attended was limited to 100 people, though the Music Box Theater will soon increase its capacity to 250 guests, while still maintaining distance between parties of two to four people.
When I entered the theater, I was greeted by the familiar (if slightly less pungent, thanks to my mask) scent of popcorn and the booming strains of house organist Dennis Scott performing as the crowd filed into the auditorium and found their seats. I was also reminded that you really have to show up early to get the best seats in the house at the Music Box, especially now that capacity is limited.
Like much of what we've collectively been deprived of over the past year, the experience of seeing a movie in a dark room filled with strangers was something that I didn't realize that I'd miss until it no longer was an option. The whispers and murmurs of the other people in the theater were initially a bit distracting after months spent watching movies solo on my couch, but it ultimately felt good to share the experience of audibly reacting and laughing as images flashed across a giant screen—especially when Al Pacino unleashed that insane line reading of "she's got a great ass!" in Heat.
I've been to a couple more movies at the Music Box since then, and I expect that I'll attend more screenings throughout the summer, especially as the theater begins showing new releases again. Wearing a mask in a theater that isn't at full capacity doesn't really take away from the experience of sitting under the twinkling ceiling lights of the main auditorium and watching a great film. Perhaps the biggest change is that, as a Music Box member, I can now take advantage of free popcorn and soda refills. Here's to a summer of sodium, sugar and cinema!
You can also become a Music Box Theatre member, swing by the Music Box Lounge for a drink or purchase a ticket to see a movie.