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Letter to the editor

Final act could be its auction

Royalty Theatre owner says, "We need a miracle."

By WILL VAN SANT, Times Staff Writer
Published December 27, 2007

Socrates A. Charos owes nearly $1.2-million on the Royalty Theatre on Cleveland Street in Clearwater. His home is also in foreclosure. "Everything is going down."
	[Bill Serne | Times]

ADVERTISEMENT [Bill Serne | Times] Dated photographs indicate the Royalty was built around 1921 and served as a vaudeville house. Its history includes a 1981 murder in the balcony. Charos has reported the presence of spirits.

CLEARWATER - Time is running out for Socrates A. Charos, a colorful downtown fixture and proprietor of the Royalty Theatre on Cleveland Street since 1999.

He needs $1-million in hand today to pay off his creditors, or the historic theater will be auctioned off at the Pinellas Courthouse on Friday.

"It's a very difficult situation," said Charos, 60. "We need a miracle."

According to a lawyer for his lender, a private investment group, Charos owes nearly $1.2-million on the theater property, whose fortunes over the decades have reflected downtown's fluctuating vitality.

The lawyer, James Gassenheimer of Miami, said Charos has been in default on his loan for about a year and has paid nothing since a court-ordered payment plan was imposed six months ago.

But Charos' troubles don't end there. On Dec. 19, another lender moved to foreclose on his private residence in Dunedin.

"Everything is going down," said Charos, a burly, ebullient man with silver hair who Wednesday wore a T-shirt with black and white images of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. "Things are very tough. But I believe."

Charos said construction from the $10-million revitalization of Cleveland Street made it difficult to draw visitors over the last year and a half.

But the devout Greek Orthodox Christian from Athens says the performances he does offer, put on by local religious, youth and arts groups, are not designed to be big moneymakers. Charos sees it as his job to make his space available to community groups who may have limited venue options.

"We're not really businessmen," he said. "We are artist people."

Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard said the street improvements certainly affected area businesses. But he thinks the lack of commerce at the Royalty is largely to blame for Charos' current financial woes.

"There hasn't been a lot of activity," Hibbard said. "I suggested to him about a month ago that I would love to see him bring in some classical films, you know, Casablanca and The African Queen."

The Royalty has history, and Hibbard said that regardless of whether there is a new owner, the space should remain a theater.

Dated photographs indicate the theater was built around 1921 and first served as a vaudeville house. When vaudeville declined, it became a movie theater, only to close in the 1970s when multiplexes took hold. The theater then became a playhouse for a local troupe before the group folded in 1997.

Its history includes a 1981 murder in the theater's balcony.

Since Charos began renovations after buying the property nearly a decade ago, he has reported the presence of spirits.

In 2002, when the Royalty was undergoing another financial crunch, Charos said Jesus appeared to him center stage.

Charos wants the Royalty to reclaim its status as a downtown hub, which is why he's convinced it should remain a performing arts venue. He has had offers from people wanting to build nightclubs and condos, but Charos said he has refused them.

"My goal is to save the place," he said. "The theater belongs to the community."

Charos is appealing for help and insists that any aid he's given will go toward preserving the theater, not his personal financial situation.

Wednesday he and his colleagues were doggedly working the phones in search of sponsors to help stave off the auction, even while hoping for divine aid.

"To the last minute, we pray a lot," Charos said. "We will see what the next step is and what God wants us to do."

Will Van Sant can be reached at vansant@sptimes.com or 727 445-4166.

HOW TO HELP

Theater aid

To get in touch with Socrates A. Charos and offer help, call either (727) 441-8868 or (727) 458-8569.

[Last modified December 26, 2007, 20:35:50]