Inside The Capawock Theatre. (Courtesy Martha s Vineyard Film Society)
Despite significant community investment to restore and revive two historic Martha’s Vineyard movie theaters five years ago, the pandemic may be the last straw. Mark Snider, founding director of the Martha’s Vineyard Theater Foundation, recently announced that the nonprofit will not renew its lease for the Capawock Theatre in Vineyard Haven and the Strand Theatre in Oak Bluffs.
“I couldn’t ask people to raise money for something shuttered,” says Snider. Typically only open in the warmer tourist months, the theaters bypassed operating in 2020 altogether because of the pandemic. But rent was still due. “It’s sad,” says Snider of the places he has loved since childhood.