A classic movie starring a classic Hollywood idol debuts Saturday in a classic Hot Springs theater.
Oh, and there will be live musical accompaniment as the movie flickers across the silver screen.
"Ricko Meets Garbo" is a special screening of the 1926 Greta Garbo silent film "The Temptress," with live accompaniment by Hot Springs musician Ricko Donovan, at The Central Theater, 1008 Central Ave.
There will be four performances — 8 p.m. Saturday and Aug. 7; 2 p.m. Aug. 1 and 8. Tickets are $20, $30 VIP. (See arkansasonline.com/25theater for details.)
Garbo was 21 when she starred in "The Temptress." It was the Swedish-born actress' second U.S. film, following "The Torrent," also from 1926. In "The Temptress," directed by Fred Niblo and co-starring Antonio Moreno, Garbo plays Elena, whose beauty and charm lead more than one man to destruction. There's also a pretty savage scene of two shirtless dudes in a whip fight, and the movie features a long shot with a crane over a decadent banquet table.
"I'm a big silent film buff," says Donovan, who moved to Hot Springs from Nashville, Tenn., about four years ago. "It's fun how something without dialogue can take you into its world, and the music is part of that. It creates a mood."
He composed a soundtrack to "The Temptress" and toured the country with it back in 2010-2011, showing it in older theaters.
"At some of those performances, people actually would show up in flapper-era clothes," he says.
It's not too far from how the movie was originally screened in the Roaring '20s, with a local organist playing along to the film.
Donovan accompanies the drama onscreen with hammered dulcimer, guitar, percussion and loops created electronically.
"You might start a scene with one layer of sound and then build on top of that," he says. "Performing it takes the most concentrated effort."
It's best when moviegoers forget he's even in the theater, he says, but he has been told that he looks like an air traffic controller when he's playing along to the film.
The setting for the four "Ricko Meets Garbo" showings couldn't be more apt. The 10,000-square-foot Central Theater was originally built in the 1930s and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
In recent years, it has been used sparingly for special events like film festivals and one-off screenings. Hot Springs developer Chris Rix is refurbishing the building with plans for it to host regular screenings, theater productions and special events.
It's already sweltering one morning earlier this month as Rix, owner of Rix Realty-Advantage Team Realtors, takes a seat in the theater. Though it's still under renovation, there have been several recent productions in the space — Arkansas' First Annual Pole Dance Showcase, a sold-out "RuPaul's Drag Race" watch party, the Mr. and Miss Spa City Pride Pageant, a "Big Lebowski" festival and a concert by country legend John Conlee.
"As you can see, I'm 100% in construction mode, but we put the dust away and then do an event on Friday and Saturday," Rix says.
Drop ceiling tiles are being removed to expose original brickwork and steel beams and also make room for a giant disco ball. A gazebo that sat at the back of the theater is being taken down and the balcony is being rebuilt to include more seating and a satellite concession area. New lights and a new sound system are also in the works, Rix says.
The theater seats about 350 now, but after renovations that number will be closer to 700.
The space began life as a garage, Rix says, pointing out pillars between which were the garage doors. It was converted to a theater around 1937, he adds.
He bought it in December after acquiring the space next door, 1010 Central Ave., in August. His plans are to create a fun and funky entertainment complex that includes a delicatessen at 1010 Central Ave.; a performance space above it he will call Grand Central Hall; and the theater.
It's an ambitious plan, and Rix is ready to see it to completion.
"These are massive projects," he says with a laugh. The 1010 space "looks crazy right now, but it has come forward by leaps and bounds. I see it in my brain and I'm like, 'C'mon, c'mon, let's go. Why aren't we done yet?'"
Rix's family has been in this area since the 1800s. They owned an ice company in the early 1900s and founded Hot Springs' first bank, Arkansas National Bank.
"I have roots that go way back," he says.
A real estate broker for 16 years, Rix has lived in New Orleans, Memphis, Tenn., Los Angeles and Maui, Hawaii, but has always returned to his hometown. From 1999-2005, he owned The Exchange, a Japanese-French fusion restaurant in Hot Springs. He recently bought former President Bill Clinton's boyhood home at 1011 Park Ave. as well as a 20-unit apartment building at 1007 Park Ave.
Rix, who has moved to a black leather couch in the theater, is sharing his vision for the buildings.
"Next door," he says, referring to 1010 Central, "is very industrial. That's the type of place for bands and loud music. This will be a sit-down theater. It was really obvious to try to assemble this property with that property."
The eatery, which he plans to call 1010 Deli, will feature food with "a fresh, healthy approach. Pacific Coast-type cuisine. Think tabbouleh and couscous as opposed to steak and mashed potatoes."
Suzanne Tucker is the owner of Historic District Antiques in Hot Springs and has known Rix for about 20 years.
"He's a go-getter," she says. "He's been resurrecting a lot of properties and getting it done. He has big dreams, big hopes and big vision — and I hope it all comes to fruition."
To have the Central Theater open would be "wonderful," she adds.
"There are a lot of talented people here who don't have a venue."
Other events on the calendar for the theater include the Mid-South Drag Revue starring "Drag Race" contestant Pandora Boxx on Friday; the return of the Foul Play Cabaret on Aug. 28 and the Hot Springs Horror, Sci-Fi & Thriller Fest from Sept. 30-Oct. 3.
The Central will also host this year's Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival from Oct 8-18, Rix says, which is a bit serendipitous, as the theater was used in 1992, the festival's first year.
It will also be perfect for "Ricko Meets Garbo," Rix says. "I'm so excited about that. It's going to be a really classy event."
Donovan says playing the Central Theater will be particularly special.
"The whole place has been transformed. Chris is restoring it to its former glory and it's wonderful in there. He has a real careful eye and he didn't waste any time. He got in and got right on it."
During the past 14 months in the entertainment industry, with performers mostly sidelined because of covid-19, "a lot of people just sank," Rix says. "DJs, bands, every kind of performer you can think of, everybody sat at home. Ricko was like, 'Hey man, now that we have this stage can we do this?' I'm like, of course we can. That is the direction I would like to go.
"I'm an all-inclusive person. We are gender-inclusive, color-inclusive. If you're a redneck, fine. Just leave your red neck at the door. This is a safe place. I've worked hard to get where I am, and I know what I am doing is correct."