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Cape Cod Mall movie theater to become Bill Hanney’s Entertainment Experience

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Cape Cod Mall movie theater to become Bill Hanney’s Entertainment Experience

Bill Hanney, owner of Entertainment Cinemas, Theatre By The Sea and North Shore Music Theatre, has announced plans to expand his empire with Bill Hanney’s Entertainment Experience at the Cape Cod Mall in Hyannis.

Hanney, who has lived in Harwich part time since 1990, said he has signed a 40-year lease with Simon Properties to take over the approximately 50,000 square feet that now houses 12 Regal Cinemas.

The new complex will include, he said, a live performing arts theater with up to 1,000 seats; four to five luxury movie theaters, including an IMAX theater, for first-run and arthouse films; clubs with upholstered banquettes (think “Goodfellas” circa 1950s) for comedy, cabaret and jazz and blues entertainment; bowling lanes, a sports bar and a country music bar.

“I want people to say ‘I’ll meet you at the X’ where they’ll have plenty of entertainment to choose from,” said Hanney, referring to the word “experience” in the venue name.

Hanney is not yet sure if he will need to close the mall’s movie theaters while building the new complex, but said he hopes to keep some open while renovating others.

Neither the mall’s owner, Simon Property, nor Regal Cinemas answered the Cape Cod Times emails or phone calls requesting comment.

“If he can bring in shows year-round, I think that’s great,” Barnstable Town Council member Matthew Levesque said.

Why build an entertainment complex in Hyannis?

One of the driving forces behind the new live theater is to have another showcase for productions Hanney now creates for his 500-seat Theatre By The Sea in South Kingston, Rhode Island, and 1,500-seat North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly. This year’s season, with a slightly different lineup at each theater, included “Million Dollar Quartet,” “Sound of Music,” “Tootsie,” Disney’s “Frozen,” “Fiddler on the Roof” and “42nd Street.”

“These shows don’t come in a bus. They are all produced by me and they don’t come cheap. The scenery for ‘Sound of Music’ was $80,000,” Hanney said. “I think all the terrific shows we do at Theatre By The Sea can move around. That’s been the driving factor since 2007 when I saw the shows’ (sets) going in the trash.” 

Hanney purchased Theatre By The Sea in 2007.

Hanney said he thinks the central location in Hyannis will attract theatergoers from Provincetown, Falmouth and even Boston to see shows with ticket prices topping out at $98 for the best single seats, as they do at his other theaters.

Hanney also anticipated that parts of the complex will be available to rent for private functions, including weddings.

How much will Bill Hanney’s Entertainment Experience cost to create?

The theater owner estimates it will cost at least $4-$5 million to renovate or rebuild the existing Hyannis movie theaters for their new uses, including turning two or three cinemas into a two-story performing arts center. Hanney said he plans to finance the project privately, as he has with his existing theaters.

When will it open?

“The earliest we would be in there working would be December, the earliest we would have anything open ― like the luxury cinemas ― would be for next summer. It’s the live theater that will take the longest,” Hanney said Monday.

What’s needed to make the project work?

Hanney has experience renovating movie theaters. He owns and operates Entertainment Cinemas in Dennis and Falmouth Cinema Pub in Falmouth ― two of 30 cinemas he has owned. He also recently purchased an eight-screen luxury movie theater in Portland, Maine, where he plans to eventually develop a second entertainment complex like the one in Hyannis.

“The good news here is we’re not changing the use,” Hanney said, discussing the Hyannis project. “It’s still entertainment and we’ve got parking for 2,500 seats. We’re using a lot of the same bones but we’re making an amazing visual change to the complex.”

“Really, no town approval is needed because everything he’s doing at the property is by right,” Levesque said. “There’s no Zoning Board of Appeals, no coming before the town board, cause it’s all zoned for that purpose.”

Speaking as an observer and not a town official, Levesque said he thinks increased traffic to the new project may require additional security and parking lot lights as increased shopping volume does at the holidays.    

Will the Entertainment Experience have food?

The Entertainment Experience will have commercial kitchens to supply pub-style food to the theaters and clubs, Hanney said, with dishes such as homemade pizzas, salads, gourmet sandwiches, burgers, nachos and “anything you want to eat at a comedy club.”

Theatre By The Sea has an onsite Bistro By The Sea that feeds people before shows with a menu that includes an $18 grilled cheese with brisket, $25 spinach-and-basil fettuccine with roasted veggies and a $38 beef petite filet mignon with steak frites.

Will Cape Cod Mall benefit from the Entertainment Experience?

Hanney said restaurants near his theaters also thrive on show days, a passalong effect he hopes will benefit restaurants now in the mall in Hyannis and will attract more for pre- and post-show dining.

Martha Piemonte, whose family owns Cap’n Jack’s in South Kingstown, Rhode Island, about a mile as the crow flies from Theatre By The Sea, said her restaurant is always busier on show nights.

“It’s such a draw. It’s really great for the community,” she said. “I think a lot of people must have subscriptions because when a new play opens, the same people come to eat.”

Piemonte said the local theater was always a draw, and the restaurant felt the impact when it closed from 2005-2007. Hanney has not only brought in professional actors and stagehands, she said, but made improvements including installing air conditioning.

“Bill Hanney’s going to do something on the Cape? I think you will be very happy,” Piemonte said. “He’s doing a fantastic job here.”

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