A New Era At The Orpheum As Founding Executive Director Kevin McLain Moves On

CHATHAM – When Kevin McLain was hired as the first executive director of the Chatham Orpheum Theater 13 years ago, the movie house was a blank slate. What exactly would it mean to be a nonprofit community movie theater?
Today, the answer seems clear: a place where members of the community gather not just to watch Hollywood movies, but to experience culture through independent and art films, to learn about the region and the world through documentaries, to raise money for important causes, and for kids to see free morning movies during the summer.
None of this was evident when McLain began his tenure, but the track record and reputation of the Main Street theater under his leadership is now firmly established. Which, for him, means it’s time to move on.
“As founding executive director, the job was to build something,” he said in a Jan. 30 interview. 
That job is now done. “The state of the theater is very sound,” McLain said. “We have an incredible base of donors and a great audience, and we are beloved by the community.”
Feb. 13 will be McLain’s last day as the Orpheum’s executive director. On Feb. 16 he begins work for the Cape Cod Symphony as its director of development.
“It’s opportunity and timing. Both came together at the same time,” he said.
Since December, the Orpheum has hosted a monthly series of live concerts in association with the symphony, launching a mutually beneficial relationship, with the symphony getting a foothold in the Lower Cape and the Orpheum expanding its offerings into the realm of live music. In December, the symphony’s director of development stepped down, and with growth in mind, the organization needed someone with energy and experience in building an arts program.
"Having the opportunity to welcome Kevin McLain to the Cape Symphony is incredibly exciting,” said Dr. Michael Albaugh, CEO of Cape Arts and Entertainment, the symphony’s parent organization. “His leadership at the Chatham Orpheum Theater has elevated arts engagement across the region, and we look forward to working together on innovative, collaborative programming that benefits all of Cape Cod." 
McLain, who lives in Brewster and previously worked at Chatham Bars Inn for 15 years, said he feels comfortable moving on now; in the past year the theater has undergone an upgrading of all of its equipment and will soon be installing new seating in its two screening rooms. And there’s a succession plan in place, with Paul Schuyler taking over the day-to-day operations as theater director. 
“It’s a natural evolution,” McLain said.
First opened in 1916, the theater closed after being sold in the late 1980s and, after a brief run as a live venue, was converted to a CVS store. When CVS’s lease ran out in 2012, a group of local residents formed a nonprofit and purchased the theater, raising donations big and small from the community to renovate the building back into a cinema. The inclusion of a restaurant — currently Pizza Shark — has helped make it a destination for the region and a gathering place for locals, said board of directors President Storff.
It was clear early on that the Orpheum would not be a typical movie theater relying on first-run films to draw crowds. Working with community organizations such as the Chatham Garden Club and Eldredge Public Library, the theater began showing specialty films in programs that also served as social events. Sensory sensitive screenings, free morning showings for kids during the summer, and fundraising events gradually filled the calendar. Independent and art films dominated the bill during the off season, while summer blockbusters kept the high season audience happy.
“We’re the busiest building on Main Street during the winter,” McLain said. “And we’re still going to be the July ‘Jaws’ theater.”
With a solid endowment and its place in the community firmly established, this is a transition time for the Orpheum, said Storff. A new executive director will be hired, but the role will be more to work with the board on policy and infrastructure rather than day-to-day operations, he said. The mission will continue much as it has been, including the evolution from a cinema to a focus of community outreach, something that came more into focus because of COVID, Storff said. 
“It’s clear that the community is starving for quality entertainment,” he said.
McLain credited the board with being open to trying new things even as the theater worked to establish its own identity.
“They’re truly arts people,” he said. “They understood the bigger picture.”
Schuyler recently returned to the theater after opening an Alamo Drafthouse theater in Boston’s Seaport District and the Sunset Theater on Long Island. 
“It was time to come home,” said Schuyler, a Harwich resident. He doesn’t envision making any changes, although he said he’d like to explore programs that wouldn’t have been practical while the theater was in its growth stage, including education, such as a film bootcamp. 
“What’s been built here is incredible,” he said. “Having been away to see how other systems work, I can appreciate it all the more.”
“For me, it’s hard to leave,” McLain said. “I’m going to miss coming in every day, not seeing the staff. But I’ll also miss not seeing the people who come into the theater just to say hi.”
McLain will continue to advise the theater, and, he added, won’t ever completely leave.
“It’s still my theater, because I’m part of this community,” he said.