TheCastro Theatrehas been at the center of San Francisco’s historically queer Castro neighborhood and an LGBTQ cultural landmark for more than 50 years. Its marquee and neon blade blinking “Castro” have become an abiding symbol of the neighborhood’s place in the struggle for gay rights.

The movie house, which marks its centennial in June, has not only hosted LGBTQ-themed films in repertory and festivals such as Frameline — the world’s longest-running and largest LGBTQ event of its kind — but also annual concerts by the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus, conversations with celebrities significant to queer culture and memorial services for people like Pride flag creatorGilbert Baker. Legend has it that famed gay film writer Vito Russo (“The Celluloid Closet”) even had his ashes scattered in the auditorium.

“The Castro has been really the Radio City Music Hall for gay people in San Francisco,” said filmmakerJohn Waters, a frequent Castro moviegoer who has also performed on its stage. “It was a cult temple for people who love movies and pageantry. It was a tribe.”

It’s not surprising, then, that when The Chroniclebroke the news last monththat the Castro Theatre’s management would be taken over by Bay Area concert promoters Another Planet Entertainment, known for producing the San Francisco music festival Outside Lands, reaction was mixed — from optimistic to angry.

Stephen Torres, co-chair of the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District and a former theater employee, said that initially with the theater shuttered as a repertory film house for two years due to the pandemic, “I was thrilled at the prospect of any sort of management after the long closure.”

But quickly, reservations about the new management’s plans to put a greater emphasis on live events set in for Torres and other members of the Cultural District, as they stated in a letter to APE on Jan. 20. The group specifically cited deep concerns about the potential loss of “the strong LGBTQ programming focus that has been a source of connection, education and delight for many thousands over the decades.”

Author and activist Cleve Jones, who has lived in the neighborhood since the 1970s, said that while some change was inevitable, “I hope that these folks understand the extraordinarily unique role that that building has played in what is now called the LGBTQ community of San Francisco and even beyond.”

He pointed to a larger issue that has affected San Francisco and other cities with prominent LGBTQ populations: “the demise of the traditional gayborhood,” a phenomenon spurred by trends of gentrification, a decentralizing of queer culture by digital media and the closure of legacy LGBTQ businesses, like South of Market’sStud Barin 2020 and the Mission’sLexington Clubin 2015.

Among the concerns is that the neighborhood could potentially lose one of its only all-age venues amid its many 21-and-older bars and nightlife destinations. There are also fears that longtime community partners and independent producers, like “Impresario of Castro Street”Marc Huestisand drag performerPeaches Christ, would be priced out of a venue pivoting to more commercial acts.

But chief among these fears is that queer culture will no longer be a focus. Many are particularly worried about the type of live entertainment that will be booked and whether new audiences will be respectful to the Castro community.

“We don’t want people that are going to, let’s say, aDave Chappellecomedy show in the Castro Theatre taking over (bars) 440 or the Edge,” said Tina Aguirre, Castro LGBTQ Cultural District manager, referring to the controversial comedian noted for hisantagonistic relationship with the transgender community. “We need to have those safe spaces.”

增加挫折是猿和the Castro’s longtime owners, the Nasser family, did any outreach to the community or longtime events producers ahead of announcing their partnership and are only now in contact with stakeholders.

Sources have told The Chronicle that this could have been due to the terms of a nondisclosure agreement between the Nasser family and APE. Steven Nasser, whose grandfather built the theater that opened in 1922, did not respond to an email from The Chronicle by publication time, and APE declined to comment.

“The rollout could have been a little better,” said Mary Conde, APE’s senior vice president. But she added that “now that this news is public and we’re in the building, now is the time to hit the pavement and go and meet the neighbors, get to know the community groups and address the questions and concerns that folks have. Their concerns are very valid. We want to be good partners to the community, and we want to honor the legacy of the Castro Theatre.”

In recent days, Conde has walked the area near the theater, sometimes with former District 8 Supervisor Bevan Dufty, and introduced herself to neighboring businesses. On Feb. 3, Conde met with the Castro Merchants Association on Zoom and listened to concerns ranging from gentrification to fears of major closures of Castro Street, like the one for“The Matrix Resurrections” premierein December prior to APE taking over management.

APE has also hired veteran public relations professional David Perry to aid in its outreach campaign. Perry, who is gay and co-founded the neighborhood’s Rainbow Honor Walk, said that he “would never work with any organization that had anything less than impeccable standards,” in terms of its commitment to the LGBTQ community.

This year’s Frameline will continue as planned, June 16-26, and Conde confirmed that movie screenings outside of film festival dates will still happen at the Castro, though not with the same frequency. The current staff would also remain employed, and the Castro Theatre’s beloved organ will continue to be a fixture at the venue following a temporary closure for upgrades to the building. Additionally, APE is trying to determine how it will work with longtime presenters like Huestis and Peaches Christ on future programming.

“We will be very thoughtful and considerate in how we book this venue,” Conde said, “and I can assure you that Dave Chappelle will never perform at the Castro Theatre.”

But for many, it isn’t just preserving queer programming that’s at stake: it’s preserving the venue’s unique queer audiences.

Performer and filmmakerJohn Cameron Mitchell, whose film “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” was given a special screening at the theater during the 2001 Frameline festival, called the crowd at the Castro “truly the best audience I’ve ever experienced in my life. New York certainly doesn’t have anything like it anymore. It’s a gay cathedral.”

Queer scholar and Film Quarterly editor B. Ruby Rich agrees.

“I stood on the stage at the Castro with a full house of dykes jumping to their feet and clapping for me,” Rich said, recalling the night she received the Frameline Award during the 2012 festival. “That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.”

Cultural District leaders said while they now feel “cautiously hopeful and optimistic” about APE’s involvement at the theater following this month’s meeting between the company and the Castro Merchants Association (a second meeting between APE and the Cultural District has been scheduled for Friday, Feb. 11), they know there is still a ways to go to ensure trust between APE and the community.

“APE now has an understanding that cultural humility and openness is what we needed as a part of this process,” said Aguirre. “What remains is us actually doing the work of figuring out how to make sure that the Castro can thrive and also maintain LGBTQ culture being centered at the Castro Theatre.”

桃子基督,以纪念一个有限公司ntract between her and the Castro for shows rescheduled from 2020. APE has affirmed that commitment and plans to continue discussions about future rental rates for community producers like herself.

“I think they will program appropriately because it’s in their own best interests as a business,” she said. “They may make mistakes here and there, but I don’t think they will intentionally disregard the feelings of the community.”

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