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PAGE 16 â€" WATERLOO CHRONICLE, WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1985 â€"Entertainment Princess Cinema honors Welles _ with filmfest The "biggies‘‘ begin next Monday with the 1941 classic, Citizen Kane. The movie tells the story of a newspaper tycoon, Charles Foster Kane, who dies offering the word ‘"Rosebud" with his last breath, leading newsmen on a hunt for the meaning of the word and the man.k Since its opening Sept. 18, the Princess Cinema has strove to offer movies that are not current bigâ€"budget Hollywood productions. The repertory theatre has offered the classics and cult hits, award winners, foreign films, movies that never made it to local theatres and a host of Canadian proâ€" ductions Tutt says response to the theatre has been very encouraging, with a large number of patrons becoming members. ‘‘We‘re still feeling out the area but things are coming along. With our new program design we have establish a bit of a profile," said Tutt. Admission to the cinema is $2.75 for members and $3.75 for nonâ€"members. One year theatre memberships cost $5 for adults and $3 for students. In recognition of the recent death of an ‘artistic genius‘, the Princess Cinema has compiled a fiveâ€"part series displaying a handful of the numerous accomplishments of the late Orson Welles. The Lady From Shanghai, 1948, is featured the following week. It‘s a murderâ€"mystery featuring a stunning climax in a carnival hall of mirrors. Some of the more popular titles to date have been: African Queen, Philadelphia Story, The Road Warrior and Buckaroo Banzai. The titles illustrate the wide range of movies being shown at the Princess. Mark Bryson Chronicle Staff The five films, scheduled to run at 8 p.m. each Monday in December, showcase Welles as not only a great actor but a premier director as well. The Orson Welles "Film Retrospective" got underway Dec. 2 with 1981‘s The Man Who Saw Tomorrow, and was followed up this past Monday with Touch of Evil, 1958. ‘"The reason we put this together is to recognize his artistic genius. His movies are timeless," said Tutt. The series wraps up with The Stranger, 1946. This thriller features Welles as a vicious Nazi deathâ€"camp commandant masquerading as a prepâ€"school master in postâ€"war New England. The remaining three in the series are "the biggies",says Princess Cinema founder John Tutt. John Tutt ‘"The Oktoberfest operetta has more than served its purpose. This is an ideal opportunity to provide a new and more vibrant cultural art, to concentrate on the Oktoberfest operetta of the 80‘s and 90‘s," commented Okâ€" toberfest operetta marketing director David Cashen. ‘"From a marketing standpoint they‘ve recycled Die Flederâ€" maus already. It‘s time to look for something new, inject some new life, and give Oktoberfest a new vehicle for the 80‘s and Centre in the Square has subâ€" sequent proof that tourists do not necessarily come to see the Likely the answer would be yes. ‘"Our final position may be we may not be in the position to run the operetta next year. There‘s a good possibility we may not be doing it at all. We may accept a proposal from an outer group. But there has been no final ratification by the board of directors about this. Nothing is definite," said Bishop in a recent statement. But Walker‘s stand is. *‘*For financial viability, opera is riskier than any of the other cultural offerings, and it boils down to the question, does opera really sell in this town? Employâ€" ment costs are high, with the number of people involved and the stage hands. Isn‘t there something else of the same cultural value that would satisfy the bottom line? Isn‘t it feasible to do a week of wide variety with a German flavoring to it?" They made a proposal with the Kâ€"W Opera Guild to Centre in the Square which the Centre turned down. you?" said Walker in a recent inâ€" terview. This is a good question and the Oktoberfest committee execuâ€" tive isn‘t about to give any definite answers. Committee chairman Jack Bishop says the executive have made recommendations conâ€" cerning the upcoming year. The board of directors are now lookâ€" ing at various possibilities, and have been in discussion for ‘"various reasons." *‘‘We‘ve hit the ball back into the Oktoberfest court, saying we‘re not prepared to do it. Are The operetta committee reâ€" cently approached Centre in the Square with a proposal asking them if they‘d like to get ‘"more involved" with the project than as just a rental commodity. Centre in the Square general manager Scott Walker maintains that someone has to pay the bills, regardless of how culture should be funded. Coral Andrews Chronicle Special . The revenge of the classic Die Fledermaus may be sweet, but Strauss‘ beloved ‘little bat‘ may never fly again for Kâ€"W Oktoberfest opera lovers. It seems the Kâ€"W area is about to lose a sixâ€"year cultural event. Centre in the Square has said no to the funding and producing of the upcoming year‘s Oktoberfest operetta. * Centre in the Square gets tough with their losing propositions General manager Walker has another trump card, another cultural shock tactic. Oktoberfest operetta, but come to Oktoberfest for the drinking activities. ‘"But why does it have to be done at that time of year," he continued. The Oktoberfest operetta has run Die Fledermaus twice and it is difficult to find this Bavarian genre of opera to fit this rather restrictive bill. The Centre conducted a special offer at area hotels asking out of town guests about the Centre‘s Oktoberfest discount and ticket orders. They received one reâ€" sponse. Based on these findings and other speculations, the Centre maintains that tourists may not fund the Oktoberfest operetta, and that show does not necessarâ€" ily hold as a tourist attraction. It is the local monies, the tax payers‘ dollars, which support this cultural ocoom pah pah. **With no operetta this is going to leave a ‘big hole‘," said general manager Walker. "But we could fill this hole with Joan Rivers, and other variety acts for the week. Why not? I‘m not saying opera is dead. "It‘s all directly relative to the cost of doing things. How far can you go and not lose money?" So, with no Oktobefest operetta next year, what is the alternaâ€" tive? Analysis â€" The Toronto Consort Renaissance Christmas concert is featured at the Music Room, 57 Young St. W. Thursday evening at 8 p.m. Chronicle Special CHRISTMAS SOUNDS Who really is controlling the arts? Is it the artistic majority or is it those who tend to cal culate? Who is the operetta really for? How crucial is the input of the artistic component of the comâ€" munity, and what is the financial feasibility involved? With no apparent venue for the Oktoberfest operetta, what‘s next? The decision is clearly Okâ€" toberfest‘s. And these questions remain. Does this mean the public is to suffer because the Centre in the Square rightly refuses to foot the bill? ‘"It‘s getting to the point, where we can‘t afford to lose money on any show. But to break even we have to sell 126% of the tickets and that‘s impossible. We‘d have to charge $30 a ticket, and no one wants to pay that. Our ticket prices have to be geared to the appropriate level of producâ€" tions so that we can break even comfortably, and still come out with a few thousand profit on top of it," he finished. So the ball and the ‘little bat‘ now rest in the Oktoberfest court. ‘"There will be no Nutcracker next year. Next Christmas we are going to do Hansel and Gretel either produced with our own opera guild, or bring in an American production,"" said Walker.