密歇根新闻广播 小小城镇建电影院 好处多着呢

The town of Williamston, in Ingham County, has a population just under four thousand people. Like many Michigan towns of its size, its downtown historic district boasts a variety of retail¹ and dining establishments.

But nestled among the brick storefronts is a somewhat less-familiar sight: an 88-seat black box theater.

Founded in 2004, the Williamston Theatre is now in its eleventh season. During that time, it has won numerous awards, including four Thespies for Outside Mullingar during the 2014-2015 season. It has also become an increasingly important driver of economic development in Williamston.

Tony Caselli is the director of the theater and one of its four original founders². He told us Williamston Theatre typically brings more than 10,000 visitors to the town during the course of a season.

Those visits have spill-over effects. Mario Ortega, Williamston's community development director, said the town's business district has been thriving since the theater opened.

"It's evolved more into creating a sense of place," Ortega said. "Williamston has been around for a long time, and so it has developed as mainly a retail center… With the theater we've seen a larger bump in the restaurants we've had."

The theater's next production also promises to be a big draw. Beginning on March 23 and running through April 23, they will be presenting an adaptation of George Orwell's 1984.

Listen to our full interview with Tony Caselli and Mario Ortega above.

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句