FRANKLIN — Along with movies, concerts and plays, the Franklin Theatre has capitalized on the excitement around TV premieres.
Seats were reserved quickly for last falls premiere of Breaking Bad, Januarys premiere of National Public Televisions Downton Abbey and Thursdays Sherlock. All were shown free.
Its that sense of community with 300 other people who also love the show, said Brian Solomon, marketing and communications manager. Its definitely more fun than watching it at home.
With little promotion, the showings were sold out within a week.
For the third year, the theater will show the Super Bowl, at 6 p.m. Feb. 2. Free tickets are available.
The theater, built in the 1930s, was redesigned to be a world-class music venue but seeks to offer a variety of programming to reach many audiences, offering everything from top-dollar live music and theater events to $5 and free events.
These events allow us to introduce people to the theater that might not otherwise visit us, Solomon said. We hope theyll come back in the future.
After showing Downton Abbey, which also was a fundraiser for NPT, its success led to scheduling Thursdays Sherlock opener.
We have a terrific relationship with Nashville Public Television allowing us to premiere Sherlock and Downton Abbey before they air, he said.
Future TV showings arent determined yet.
If we see something getting a lot of attention, well look into it, Solomon said. TV premieres wont interfere with regular music nights.
For more information and showtimes, go to www.franklintheatre.com