From Hollywood to Hutchinson, Inside the State Theatre’s Big-Screen Revival

Long before streaming algorithms began feeding us movies through our phone screens, towns gathered at the local cinema. You pushed through the heavy doors, caught the scent of real butter in the lobby, and sat in the dark with a roomful of neighbors to experience the exact same story at the exact same moment. Decades of shifting habits have shuttered many of those historic landmarks, but Hutchinson, Minnesota, is bucking the trend. The city’s 1937 Liebenberg and Kaplan–designed State Theatre is showing how historic venues are compatible with high-quality modern projection and that the physical ritual of going to the cinema is nowhere near dead.

To understand the Hutchinson’s success, it helps to look past the surface headlines of the multiplex. While summer 2026 posted eye-popping box office grosses led by blockbuster tentpoles, industry analysts point to a sharper reality underneath. As reported by NPR, tracking data reveals that while higher ticket prices drove record revenue, overall ticket admissions through late summer were still down nearly 31 percent compared to 2019 (547.1 million vs. 795.9 million), alongside the permanent loss of over 7,000 North American theater screens. Rather than relying on inflated ticket prices to balance their books, the State’s owners are taking a simple approach: making going to the movies feel like an event again.

The State Theatre in Hutchinson, Minnesota. Photo by Victoria Breshears

From Hollywood Restorations to Main Street

The story of the State’s revival begins with co-owners Jayson Wall and Jenna McFeely. The couple had spent years working in the film industry, including Wall’s extensive postproduction background and meticulous photochemical restorations at Disney, such as working on the 2016 4K restoration of Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca. But during the pandemic, they began evaluating what they actually wanted out of their careers and daily lives.

What started as a lighthearted dating joke about someday owning a movie theater slowly transformed into a serious, multiyear search across the country. They looked at theaters in Colorado and California before discovering the State in 2023. “This one was the one that made the most sense from everything involved,” Wall explained. “I love the size of the screen, the neon, the small-town feel, and the fact that we’re close to the city. What we’re trying to do here with our presentation is bring big-city quality to a small town—something you don’t normally get, even at multiplexes with leather seats. What we’re doing is pushing presentation quality.”

They weren’t taking on a fixer-upper. Previous stewards Miles “Red” and Linda McMonagle had spent nearly two decades restoring and operating the 1937 venue after saving it from abandonment in the early 2000s. When the McMonagles listed the building to enter retirement, Wall and McFeely stepped into a structurally sound, fully functional community fixture. The acquisition wouldn’t be a “disaster rescue” or a financial bailout, but a passing of the torch—taking a well-loved local institution and equipping it with studio-grade exhibition technology.

That transition meant moving to Minnesota to run the venue onsite full-time. Rather than managing the venue remotely or treating it as an arms-length investment, the couple approached the historic building as hands-on, daily stewards. For Wall, that means spending long hours in the projection booth fine-tuning equipment and chatting directly with patrons in the lobby. The effort hasn’t gone unnoticed: In June 2026, the owners were honored with Hutchinson’s Tom Wirt Award for their contributions to the area’s arts scene, reinforcing a relationship defined not by coastal intervention, but by genuine community integration.

Trading Los Angeles for greater Minnesota has meant a distinct shift in rhythm. “I grew up in Pasadena, so it’s different,” Wall noted. “I love working here and owning this theater. What I miss from LA is having those connections to certain restaurants and cultural spots, but I love exploring the Twin Cities—going to the Heights or the Riverview Theater, which I love. It’s taken a bit to transition, but the community support has been great.”

For the couple, running an independent cinema is the logical extension of a lifelong habit of collecting and preserving vintage pop culture. Wall is a record collector with a physical audio archive of around 6,000 LPs, 2,000 singles, CDs, and reel-to-reel tapes. He completely nerds out over the hyperspecific details of vinyl history—hunting down first pressings, decoding matrix numbers etched into runout grooves, identifying specific manufacturing plants, and analyzing which stamper produces the best sonic master. Raised in Southern California in a post-and-beam garden home, he is equally passionate about midcentury architecture and design, obsessing over Googie designs, Space Age aesthetics, and Eichler-style floor plans.

McFeely shares that passion for midcentury culture and design, hunting down vintage neon signage, Christmas decor, and dishware like Franciscan Starburst, Russell Wright, and Melmac. “Apparently, we have a thing for preserving things from the past and then obsessing over every tiny detail about how they were originally made,” she joked. That habit of digging into original details is exactly how they approach the technical presentation of the State’s films behind the scenes.

Photo by Victoria Breshears

High-End Presentation

When upgrading the theater’s projection equipment, Wall sought out a Barco DP4K-32B xenon projector, which he sourced from Minneapolis’s Walker Art Center, choosing its natural optical quality over standard laser projection. The vintage glass and optics run alongside heavy-duty modern digital hardware, including native 4K projection and a Trinnov Ovation² 7.1 sound system. Even the finer details—like tracking down original trailers, scanning them, running period bumpers, and rejecting subpar studio digital cinema packages (DCPs)—underscore a deep respect for the audience’s overall experience.

That same meticulous care defines theater’s programming. Balancing a personal collection of over 275 16mm feature films alongside thousands of Blu-rays and DVDs, Wall and McFeely curate a dynamic lineup that bridges the gap between first-run Hollywood blockbusters and repertory classics.

While introduced gradually, the appetite for repertory cinema among the State’s customers is growing steadily. “At first, people were probably wondering, ‘Why are you running an old movie?’ And then they suddenly realized, ‘Gosh, this is kind of cool,'” Wall said. “It took some time, but we started doing really well with those films. There’s a lot of great programming I want to do. I’d love to run a Gene Kelly Cinemascope double feature of It’s Always Fair Weather and Brigadoon on the big screen.”

Beyond screening movies, an independent neighborhood theater gives a town a shared physical space that streaming at home can’t match. When a room full of 200 people laughs or gasps at the same second, it turns a quiet weeknight into a shared local experience. The couple designed the State to tap directly into that communal hunger, ensuring the space functions as a gathering ground rather than just a turnstile for ticket sales. The theater has quickly established itself as a regional hub, drawing film lovers not only from Hutchinson but from surrounding communities across Glencoe, New Ulm, Mankato, St. Cloud, and Willmar.

Photo by Victoria Breshears

Big-Screen Ambition

The State is also proving that when it comes to live events, a rural venue doesn’t have to settle for standard cookie-cutter touring fare. A prime example is the special event the theater hosted in September: a screening of Avengers: Endgame followed by an in-person onstage conversation and audience Q&A with Emmy Award–winning Marvel screenwriter Stephen McFeely.

As the writer behind Avengers: Endgame, Avengers: Infinity War, Captain America: Civil War, and the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, he was a rare get for a theater in a town of 14,000. The secret? As you might guess from the last name, there’s a family connection: Stephen McFeely is Jenna McFeely’s brother.

“When they bought the theater, I was over the moon,” the writer told the audience during the Q&A, which was hosted by radio personality Tim Lammers. “I thought it was great for their personalities and their lifestyle. The sound in here is booming—it’s better sound than theaters a hundred miles away.”

During the career-spanning conversation, he shared insights into the mechanics of writing Endgame. Reflecting on the creative latitude Marvel gave him and co-writer Christopher Markus, he said, “With Endgame, the mission from on high was to end this, tell a complete story, close the book. When you give a writer that kind of freedom, you get to say, ‘What if we kill Tony Stark?'” He also touched on writing iconic character moments, like Robert Downey Jr. bringing his real-life parenting phrase “I love you 3,000” to the script and balancing the weight of writing Natasha Romanoff’s sacrifice.

Looking ahead to Doomsday, he expressed his excitement for returning to the Marvel sandbox alongside directors Joe and Anthony Russo. “I believe in the theatrical experience,” he said, before teasing the future of the franchise. “It’s been a labor of love and a heavy lift […] The goal is to hopefully surprise you.”

Marvel screenwriter Stephen McFeely, right, and moderator Tim Lammers, left, at the State Theatre on September 26, 2026. Photo by Victoria Breshears

Looking Ahead

Since the State reopened its doors, locals and traveling film fans across southern Minnesota have consistently turned out. Patrons have embraced everything from fresh blockbusters and classic retrospectives to community events, proving that people still value the shared ritual of going to the movies.

And the momentum isn’t slowing down. The State is currently preparing for its second annual “Hitchtober” Hitchcock festival (which includes the restoration of Rebecca that Wall supervised), Halloween screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, and the theater’s milestone 90th anniversary in 2027. Among Wall and McFeely’s long-term ambitions are exploring 35mm and 70mm projection capabilities for the main auditorium, ensuring that physical film traditions continue to have a home on the screen.

The State Theatre’s revival isn’t built on nostalgia alone. By focusing on screen presentation, crisp audio, and deliberate programming, the owners are aiming to keep Hutchinson’s downtown marquee lit for decades to come.

The State Theatre is located at 35 Washington Avenue East in Hutchinson, Minnesota. For current showtimes, upcoming special event tickets, and repertory programming announcements, visit StateTheatreHutch.com or follow the theater on Facebook.