Castro theater advocates tell Entertainment Commission Another Planet’s management has left venue dark

Michael Petrellis, speaking during general public comment at the San Francisco Entertainment Commission’s Aug. 15 meeting, urged commissioners to examine programming at the Castro Theater after a change in management.

“Since Another Planet took over management of the Castro theater, there have been 242 dark nights of absolutely no programming,” Petrellis said, and he told the commission he counted about 171 additional dark nights through January 2024. He asked the commission to place the Castro and Another Planet on an upcoming agenda and questioned why the issue had not been discussed previously.

Petrellis framed the issue as both a cultural and economic concern for the Castro Corridor, asking commissioners to consider “how the lack of programming is affecting the businesses in the Castro Corridor.” He also criticized Commissioner Torres (named by Petrellis in public comment) for not placing the topic on the commission’s agenda.

The commission did not take action on the Castro Theater at the Aug. 15 meeting. Commissioners closed general public comment and moved on to other agenda items, including permit reviews and enforcement reports. Petrellis’s remarks were recorded as part of the meeting’s public-comment record; commissioners did not announce a next step specific to the Castro Theater during the session.

The Entertainment Commission oversees permits and entertainment-related enforcement, but it does not directly manage private theatrical programming. Petrellis’s remarks were presented as a request for future agenda consideration rather than as formal evidence of a code violation.