Skip to main contentUpdate, Jan. 10, 2023: The full team of theater owners currently includes Susan Tomorrow, Morgan McDonald, David Gluck and Steven Willams and Jessica Barber.
The Clinton Street Theater is getting new owners.
On April 1 (no, it’s not a joke!), Lani Jo Leigh and Roger Leigh will relinquish control of the beloved theater to Aaron Colter and Tom Kishel, who have been interested in purchasing the cinema for a decade.
The changing of the guard was announced in a press release sent out by Colter, which stated that he and Kishel intend to work full-time day jobs while running the theater. The press release also stated that the theater had launched a GoFundMe campaign to pay for improvements to equipment and facilities.
Under the leadership of the Leighs, the Clinton established itself as a cinephile’s paradise. Their trademark was screening a dizzyingly vast variety of films, from Oscar-winning contemporary classics like Lost in Translation and La La Land to cult delights like But I’m a Cheerleader! and The Rocky Horror Picture Show (which has continued to screen at the Clinton since 1978, even during quarantine). The theater also used its marquee to deliver pointed political messages to Portland City Hall and the Trump White House.
The transition to Colter and Kishel has been in the works for some time. In 2012, the duo hoped to purchase the theater from then-owner Seth Sonstein, but the Leighs bought it.
By July 2020, Colter and Kishel were discussing buying the Clinton from the Leighs. By May 2021, Colter was programming under Lani Jo Leigh’s supervision, overseeing everything from a benefit show featuring Ian Karmel to Akira Kurosawa and Agnès Varda film festivals.
Colter and Kishel’s plans for the Clinton, which originally opened in 1915, include screening a series of nature-themed films in honor of Earth Day, as well as continuing to host curator Muriel Lucas’ Church of Film series.
And as for Rocky Horror, the press release pointed out that transition to new ownership will take place on the 44th anniversary of the theater’s weekly screenings of the film, which will continue.