For most of the past four-plus decades, Southport's historic Amuzu Theatre has existed at 111 N. Howe St. downtown in various states of disrepair.
Built as a movie house in 1918, the Amuzu screened films for more than 60 years before closing in 1980. It then sat, mostly unused and slowly deteriorating, for some 25 years before getting back into show business in the mid-2000s. All the while, the building's longtime owners, Bill and Cathy Furpless, never gave up on their dream of restoring the Amuzu to its former glory.
That dream came to fruition over the summer, when the Amuzu re-opened with a patriotic musical revue after months of extensive renovations. The Amuzu has a new sign and a new, professional stage, as well as a spiffy backstage with a green
room, dressing rooms, bathrooms and storage. (Before the renovations, "backstage" was literally the Amuzu's backyard.)
All told, the historic theater is in the best shape it's been in for decades.
"It took us 20 years," said Bill Furpless, whose grandfather, Price Furpless, was a former mayor of Southport and a brick mason who literally built the Amuzu.
Furpless and his wife are retired Brunswick County educators. But they managed to save up what they estimate to be about $350,000 for the renovations.
"We're about outta money right now," Furpless joked.
Then again, it's hard to put a price on a dream.
"It's a wonderful thing," Cathy Furpless said. "If anyone had told me when I was a little girl that I'd have my own theater one day, I wouldn't have believed them."
There's a lot of history within these walls.
Bill Furpless' father, Bertram Furpless, ran the Amuzu from the late 1940s until his death in 1962 at the age of just 49, when his son was just 15.
Bill helped his mother run the Amuzu until 1980, when it closed for lack of business and turned into the family's de facto storage unit. Giant film projectors, too large to move without dismantling, are still on site.
In 1997, the franchise-spawning horror movie "I Know What You Did Last Summer" filmed a scene in the Amuzu's balcony. Film crews built a railing for the balcony, along with a large sign reading "Southport Community Theatre" the Amuzu uses to this day. (Other movies to shoot in here include "Crimes of the Heart," "The Secret Life of Bees" and "Monster Summer.")
In the mid-2000s, one of Furpless' former students, Briton Campbell Hollister, started staging theatrical productions at the Amuzu and the slow process of repairing the theater started in earnest, leading to the Amuzu's grand re-opening over the summer.
As for the theater's future, it's still a work in progress.
A concert revue of movie songs billed as "Silver Screen Serenade" was scheduled for Oct. 3-4, with auditions for the Amuzu's annual Christmas show in December set for Oct. 11-12. Other than an October wedding, those were the only items on the Amuzu's schedule as of late September.
The Furplesses say they eventually want to show movies in the Amuzu again, have some comedy nights, hold concerts, lead tours, stage more theatrical productions and maybe host events in the 118-seat venue.
"The sky's the limit," Cathy Furpless said.
Right now, the only way to get tickets to Amuzu shows are in person at the door, or in advance from Ricky Evans Gallery in Southport or Crossroads Gathering Place in Oak Island.
Bill said he realizes that "we need to get more computerized" with online ticket sales and a website, although the Amuzu does have a Facebook page with more than 3,500 followers.
At present, no one takes a salary and the venue is run with the help of volunteers Cathy Furpless calls "our own little family."
Counting the Furpless' daughters, Catherine Smutko and Laura Hutchinson, who help run the Amuzu, along with their six grandchildren, who sometimes perform there, five generations of Furpless' have now been associated with the theater.
At 79, Furpless said he doesn't have as much energy as he used to, and recent struggles with neuropathy have slowed him down. But he seems heartened — if not quite as excited as his wife thinks he should be, he said with a chuckle — to have gotten the Amuzu a new lease on life after decades of effort.
"I hope it continues for a long time," he said.
John Staton is the arts and culture reporter for the StarNews. You can reach him at jstaton@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: After major renovation, historic Southport theater looks to the future
