“Roger Rhoten Roast & Toast” takes place Sept. 17 in honor of Rhoten’s 30 years of managing the Sebastiani Theatre. The doors open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show, featuring live music from Dawn Angelosante and Tony Gibson and the Sean Carscadden Trio. The roast and toast will feature Roger’s friends from throughout the years at the Sebastiani, 476 First St. E. Visit sebastianitheatre.com.

On Sept. 17, the Sebastiani Theatre Foundation will host a concert and “Roger Rhoten Roast & Toast” to honor Rhoten’s 30 years of managing the beloved historic theater. The celebration was originally planned for April, but Rhoten contracted COVID and was unable to attend. Now fully recovered, Rhoten is excited for the evening of festivities in his beloved theater.

The doors open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show with Dawn Angelosante and Tony Gibson and the Sean Carscadden Trio. The roast and toast will feature Roger’s friends from throughout the years at the Sebastiani. We spoke with Roger Rhoten and his wife Diana about all the hard work and magic they’ve witnessed in the beloved theatre over the 30 years.

“It’s taken a whole lot of time,” Roger Rhoten said. “It’s just been so time-consuming to do everything that needed to be done, but it’s OK because I love the theater. I just love it.”

Roger Rhoten has helped the Sebastiani Theatre become a place where young people find their passion for performing and where local performing artists have seen their dreams come true.

They’ve hosted children's programs, puppeteers and Christmas shows. They’ve hosted productions of the Sonoma Ballet Conservatory, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Reduced Shakespeare Company, Broadway Bound Kids, Sonoma City Opera and more.

They’ve also hosted local film premiers like Napa-based Francis Coppola's "Tucker," and Sonoma's own John Lassester's groundbreaking digital classic, "Toy Story." They’ve presented the Sonoma International Film Festival for 25 years.

They’ve provided a place for families to have a fun evening watching movies unfold on the silver screen. “I like a wide range of different types of films, and I have tried to choose and bring the best films to the theater for the community to enjoy,” Roger said. “I think I have pretty good taste when it comes to film, but you would have to ask the audience about that.”

“The Sebastiani has been the home of ‘Witchie Poo’ since 1987 when (former Sebastiani manager) Flo McCann invited us to do the performances there,” Diana said. “Thousands of young Sonomans have danced and sang and performed ‘Thriller’ on that stage.”

It hasn’t all been easy. It’s taken a daunting amount of work to keep it all going in a very old, albeit beautiful building. The theater’s history is fraught with previous good intentions and plans gone awry, leaving the building to deteriorate a bit over the years. Roger Rhoten stepped in more than 30 years ago to help save the theater with a nonprofit and he’s never stepped away since.

The historic theater was built in 1932 with good bones and a solid foundation that could withstand an earthquake, but over the years it had come to need attention and upgrades. In 1988, Roger Rhoten formed the Friends of Sebastiani Theatre nonprofit foundation to help maintain and update the theater.

Then in 1992, when the theater was in need of new management, the Sonoma City Council chose Roger as manager lessee of the theater. (The Sonoma City Council leases the theater from its Oakland-based ownership group and splits the cost with the theater management, according to sebastianitheatre.com) Rhoten immediately invested $60,000 of his own money on a Dolby sound system and modern projection equipment.

Diana Rhoten said that it was definitely a labor of love because when Roger took it over, he knew nothing about running a movie theater other than assisting the previous manager, Flo McCann. “With Flo's brother Danny's assistance they were able to keep the theater going with old, run-down equipment, no air conditioning, not even an ice machine,” she said.

It was really busy then. There was no multiplex and so they were running first runs and showing them two to three times a night. “Fridays and Saturdays were extremely difficult as it was the only place in town for teenagers to go and it was challenging to keep all the clients happy,” she said.

When a multiplex opened in nearby Fiesta Plaza in 1994 it brought a different kind of challenge. “Roger had to change the whole approach and went mainly for independent films rather than first runs,” Diana said. “It was touch and go and was not financially sustainable. However, we live in Sonoma and this community is so supportive and with their help he was able to make improvements steadily to bring it up to the standards we now love and expect.”

Both Roger and Diana spoke about the amazing community support the Sebastiani has gotten over the years. “Without them we wouldn’t be here,” Roger said. “There’s been so much generosity and people have signed up for our Movie Lovers Club, which has been so helpful, especially during the pandemic. There’s just been so much support and love for the theater.”

Diana said her husband worked to bring the theater up to code so that they could host live entertainment. “He installed fire retardant curtains, sprinkler system, new electrical, and on and on, little by little,” she said.

In 1994 they started the Performing Arts Camp, fashioned after Wavy Gravy's Camp Winnarainbow. “We have so much talent in Sonoma and we were able to recruit incredible instructors,” Diana said. “It has grown from about 40 participants the first year to over 150. This could never have happened without Roger's dedication to keeping the theater open for the community. We feel it is so important that people, especially children, feel at home when they come to the theater.”

Roger Rhoten praised his wife’s work with the theater camps noting that the young participants come away with more self-confidence. “That’s all Diana, she’s the catalyst and she juggles all of that,” he said.

Roger said that one of the things he has loved the most is all the local people he’s met over the years and the memories and experiences he’s been able to share with them. “So many kids came through here,” he said. “We’ve got kids in the camps whose parents attended when they were kids.”

In 2008, the Sebastiani Theatre Foundation was established and has since been responsible for the lease, renovations and sponsoring special events. In 2018, the foundation purchased the theater’s business, Rhoten Productions and turned it into a nonprofit. Roger Rhoten was hired as the foundation’s executive director. “The (theater’s board of directors) has been a moving force in paving the way to remodel and make all the improvements required by ADA which is a huge financial commitment,” Diana said.

Tony Ginesi was hired as the general manager in 2018 and took on the day-to-day workings in the theater. “I can’t say enough good things about Tony Ginesi,” said Roger. “I had been looking for years to find someone with the right personality, and the skills it takes to run this theater. You have to have a lot of knowledge about everything, sound, lighting, people and much, much more. Tony has all those skills and is just a wonderful person. He brings a lot to the theater as we move forward. I'm very grateful that he’s here, and he’s made my life a lot better.”

A new general manager meant that Rhoten would have more time to work with the board of directors on fundraising and theater improvement projects.

Roger also took the time to revamp his Magic Medicine Show. Roger is a magician and said an onstage display of amazing feats, magical mysteries, song, dance, laughter and wondrous novelties had been in the works for decades. He’d been too busy with managing the theater to bring it to the stage, but was thrilled to make it happen in 2018.

We asked him if there might be another Magic Medicine Show in the future. “I do hope so,” he said. “I think I’ve got one more in me!”

“I'm prejudiced but he has committed his last 30 years to the success of this theater and not without reward,” Diana Rhoten said. “This town loves his dedication, is so appreciative and always lets him know it.”

Roger Rhoten said he hopes that in another 30 years the theater reaches even more of the community. He hopes to see the performing arts programs expanded and more young people getting to experience it. “It’s important that it be a true community theater and that everyone has access,” he said.

This theater is a gathering place where we laugh together, cry together and come together for different reasons,” Roger said. “Everyone I talk with usually has a memory to share about an experience they’ve had here. For those who haven’t yet experienced it, they really should come on down, look for the neon Sebastiani sign and check it out.”

For information about the Sept. 17 “Roger Rhoten Roast & Toast,” visit sebastianitheatre.com.

“Roger Rhoten Roast & Toast” takes place Sept. 17 in honor of Rhoten’s 30 years of managing the Sebastiani Theatre. The doors open at 6 p.m. for the 7 p.m. show, featuring live music from Dawn Angelosante and Tony Gibson and the Sean Carscadden Trio. The roast and toast will feature Roger’s friends from throughout the years at the Sebastiani, 476 First St. E. Visit sebastianitheatre.com.

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