Here's to the Cheap Show

Yesterday, I saw The Manchurian Candidate (the new version; @@@) at the Ogden Theatre, for which I paid the whopping sum of $3. The Ogden, in Naperville, IL, and the Buffalo Grove Theatre, which fortunately for me are convenient to my home and workplace, respectively, are seemingly the last of a dying breed -- "the cheap show." Commonly known as second run theatres, these $2-3 theatres are more accurately 3rd run, as $3.50-7.00 theatres such as the Glen (in Glen Ellyn), Wilmette, Highland Park and wonderful Pickwick now provide a middle ground between the first run ($9-10) theatres and the Ogden & Buffalo Grove. There used to be a few more truly "cheap shows" around Chicagoland -- Morton Grove, and one I used to go to in Lombard, plus many of the mid-range theatres used to be really cheapos. I don't know the economics of cheap shows, but I sure wish there were more of them and I certainly wish the Ogden & Buffalo Grove don't go out of business or raise their prices like many others have. These two theatres seem to draw a nice crowd, are well-maintained, and if you're willing to wait 2-6 months after its release to see a movie, or are willing to take a flyer on just about anything for $2 or 3 bucks, they really can't be beat.