Frank Cannata, executive director of the Riviera Theatre.

(photo: Rose Mattrey)

Fire and flash add thrills to a holiday. However, a great way to celebrate the Fourth is not so great on Father’s Day.

About three weeks ago, as Saturday turned to Sunday, Greg Stenis, proprietor of J.P. Dwyer’s Irish Pub, was locking up the bar at 65 Webster in North Tonawanda when he saw flames outside Canal Deli, at 59 Webster, close to the corner of Tremont Street. He called the North Tonawanda fire and police departments. It was a small fire when first spotted, but, Stenis recalls, “When it got to the roof, that’s when it went bad.”

At the rooftop level, fire leaps from premises to premises very quickly, especially when the buildings are constructed wall-to-wall as they are on this block of Webster. The deployment took into consideration that in the middle of this small, triangle-shaped block sits the Riviera Theatre, a landmark for locals and a burgeoning cultural center for the region.

“Yeah,” yawns Frank Cannata, acting nonchalant, “that’s how I spent Father’s Day with my son Dominic.” Cannata is executive director of the Riviera. If Dominic had breakfast-in-bed plans for his dad that Sunday, he was beaten out by a sunrise phone call from Bob Stratiff, the Riviera’s general handyman. He had been called to the theater immediately after the fire was reported. The first things Stratiff did were to cover the Riviera’s Wurlitzer organ with a fireproof tarp and to call Cannata.

When Cannata was notified, lifesaving tasks had already been completed. Tenants above the deli and flanking shops were evacuated, all unharmed, before the fire took out the deli, a barbershop and two empty storefronts.

Damage to the Riviera was largely superficial and, after some cleanup, the theater did not lose a minute of its summer events calendar.

Stenis’ bar suffered smoke damage from the fire and water damage from the rescue. Drenching Dwyer’s might have been a factor in saving the Riviera. As karmic payback, Cannata has given Stenis use of Riviera office space for a remote HQ while contractors prep the bar. To be operational by Canalfest, running July 15 to 22, Stenis is hustling to renew permits and restock shelves.

Cannata faces the same deadline. For each day of the festival, the Riviera will offer events and performances themed to the day. The movie American Graffiti will be screened on the evening of a classic car cruise through the town, Easy Rider on the night of a bike ride.

Right now, the Riviera looks impeccable. The day after the fire, the carpets and seating were cleaned to prevent the smoke from lingering in the fabric and staling. Still, the attentive eye is drawn to the scars from the recent event.

“You can see it here…and here…” points out David Bondrow, hired last year as Cannata’s assistant. Bondrow walks from the lobby to the front row of the theater, pointing at baseboard level to moiré-like stains caused by water seepage. Beyond the velvet covering and the brick walls behind it is Dwyer’s. The blots would be a crisis if they resulted from rowdy audiences throwing drinks at each other, but as the evidence of a fire…not too bad.

“These carpets were soaked,” Bondrow says. “And here, in front of the stage, the water was puddling. The chandelier will come down so the crystals can be washed. Can you see how the ceiling is darker than the walls? That’ll have to be cleaned. And these soft goods,” he adds, referring to the black drapes on the stage, “will have to be cleaned. Right now, if you shook them, you could smell the smoke from the fire.”

These chores will be tended to over the summer, squeezed into The Riviera’s busy events calendar.

The biggest enemies of old theaters are fire and the wrecking ball. This week in Buffalo, the remains of the Erlanger Theater are being sledged to brick dust. Built in 1926, classically styled to coordinate with the Statler Hotel across Delaware Avenue, it opened in 1927, closed 30 years later and has been enveloped within a modern office complex since 1959. Sadly, no one could imagine either a use for this theater or recognize its legacy.

Cannata, his board and a range of funders find value in the Riviera’s past and its future. As previously reported (Artvoice v5n43), the Riviera will soon acquire an adjacent building and construct a connector between the buildings. To be completed in three phases, at a total cost of about $2 million, this capital plan will provide the Riviera with an additional 8,000 square feet without compromising the vintage building.

Audiences will enjoy a larger lobby, additional concession services, universal-use restrooms and a Riviera museum. Performers will have spacious dressing rooms, staff will have new offices and everyone will have rehearsal space. Ultimately, the Riviera can present shows with larger casts and can even produce shows. To administer these plans, Bondrow will assume the title of artistic director come September.

This positions the Riviera to better serve audiences. Niagara County students can attend school-time performances of music, theater and dance without traveling into Buffalo. Family audiences can see movies without traveling to the mall. Given their proximity, audiences from Erie County’s populous north town suburbs, Williamsville, Amherst and Tonawanda, will find their way to the Riviera, too.

Cannata foresees a specific place for the Riviera in the local monarchy of palatial theaters in Western New York. “Just like Diana was ‘the people’s princess’? We want to be the people’s performing arts center,” he quips.

Given the breadth of events that take place at the Riviera and the contagious good will around the place, Cannata has established a foundation on which to build that wish.

The Riviera Theatre is located at 67 Webster Street, North Tonawanda (692-2413, rivieratheatre.org).