Newsday (Nassau Edition) du lieu suivant : Hempstead, New York • 126

00 000000 0000 0000000 0000000000000 0001 100 0000 000. 1000 O. 0 0 0000 000 0 000000 A sketch of the mural for Loews' new multi-theater: from left, Clark Gable, Theda Bara, Marlene Dietrich, Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Gary Cooper, Greta Garbo, Marilyn Monroe and Humphrey Bogart. Moving to save money with 4-in-1 theaters By Bill Kaufman The latest multi -auditorium movie theater on Long Island is set to open at the Nassau Mall in Levittown tomorrow, furthering the industry-wide trend toward grouping together several theaters under the same roof as an economy move. The Loews Quad, a newly constructed, fourauditorium theater, has a combined capacity of more than 2,000.

Two of the theaters will show "Close Encounters of the Third Kind," another will feature, "Star Wars" and the fourth will be playing "Looking for Mr. Goodbar." (Admission will be $3.50.) A spokesman for the Loews chain, Ted Arnow, said that the new complex will include Dolby sound, special projection systems and decorations that include an 85-foot-long color mural in the lobby depicting famous film stars. The Dolby sound system, which takes its name from Dolby Laboratories, the developers, is being installed in a number of theaters. It utilizes five speakers behind the screen as well as others in the auditorium, enhancing the original soundtrack, reducing extraneous noise and creating a stereophonic effect. Ben Perse, an executive of Capitol Motion Picture Supply a Manhattan firm which in-.

stalls the Dolby systems, said that about half a dozen Long Island theaters are equipped with the sound equipment. are used in conjunction with a 70 millimeter film, which is twice the size of a conventional theater projection set-up," Perse said. Among the other movie houses with the Dolby system are the Roslyn Theater and Twin South at Mid-Island Mall, Hicksville. For the past several years, theater operators have been suffering from an increasing shortage of film releases, a situation which has caused a number of theaters on Long Island and elsewhere to close. Others, faced with rising costs, have been forced to curtail their operations and remain dark during certain months.

Arnow noted that the multi-theater concept is essentially a measure to combat the cost problem. "We believe that if you put four theaters in one location, it's far more feasible economically," Arnow said. "All you need is a few more ushers. There's just one projection room instead of four. There is just one heating and cooling plant and only one refreshment concession.

It's all for efficient operation." Arnow said the Loews Quad, like many other Backed up by Joseph Wayne Bascomb, left, and Ivson Polk back up Vivian Reed in her song and dance version of 'Sweet Georgia one of the highlights of 'Bubbling Brown Sugar' at the Westbury Music Fair, Brush Hollow Road. The show runs through Friday and then comes back Dec. 26 for another week. 333-0533. such theaters, contains a common lobby, with access to the four auditoriums.

He said the cost of the new showplace is high, "probably close to one-million dollars," but that it would be offset by savings in overhead and staff. There are several multi-theaters on Long Island. The opening of the Loews Quad will come right on the heels of the Meadowbrook Quartet, another four-auditorium theater which opened Friday in East Meadow. United Artists Theaters, a Great Neck-based chain, which has about 40 theaters on Long Island, converted the East Meadow theater from a standard movie house. Last month, United Artists Theaters also transformed a theater in Lynbrook to a four-auditorium house, which a spokesman for the theater chain, Murray Cooper, said "is doing very well for us." The chain also operates a theater at the Sunrise Mall in Bayshore that has five auditoriums, believed to be the greatest number under one roof on Long Island.

Echoing Arnow of Loews, Cooper said that it was far more sound economically for exhibitors to run multi-theaters than traditional theaters. can amortize everything in a far more efficient manner," he said. White House date for children's act A children's musical production currently appearing in Manhattan has been invited to perform at the White House tomorrow in an annual holiday program to entertain youngsters from the diplomatic corps. The traditional White House event has First Lady Rosalynn Carter as hostess and is geared to offer the diplomats' children a taste of what young people's entertainment is all about in the United States. The Pixie Judy Troupe will be among the various performers appearing at the afternoon function.

Judy Abrams, the theater group's producer, said that her company will stage its musical "The Littlest Clown" for the White House visitors. The show contains music written by Lew Kesler, who was Cole Porter's arranger, and a book by Christopher Cable, a television writer. Ann Anderson, speaking for Mrs. Carter, said that the production of "The Littlest Clown" was brought to the attention of White House staff members who set up the holiday event. "We're interested in presenting a varied program.

The Pixie Judy Troupe fits our format very well," she said. New Yorkers can see Littlest Clown" at Manhattan's Copacabana at 12:30 PM Saturdays and Sundays. The show is offered in a luncheon-and-disco package. The price of the package is $7.95, with group rates available. -Kaufman.