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Pink Palace theater and planetarium to reopen July 21
John Beifuss
The Memphis Pink Palace Museum theater and planetarium will reopen July 21, six weeks after the reopening of the museum's main exhibit areas.
In accordance with the COVID-19 protocols established by city and county government and the Health Department, social distancing will be enforced by greatly limiting the number of guests allowed into each venue, according to Bill Walsh, museum marketing manager.
The CTI Giant Screen Theater — which employs a 50-foot-wide screen and state-of-the-art sound design to present IMAX-quality 3D science and nature documentaries along with revivals of classic older films — will sell only 50 tickets per screening, for a theater with 400 seats.
Meanwhile, the AutoZone Dome at the Sharpe Planetarium, where starscapes and other types of shows are projected onto a 3,925-square-foot overhead projection screen, will allow only 20 guests per show, for an in-the-round venue that normally seats 145.
In addition, all guests will be required to wear masks, Walsh said.
The main show at the planetarium will be "Black Holes," billed as "a fully immersive journey through one of the most mystifying, awe-inspiring phenomena in the universe." The narrator is John de Lancie, known for his role as the mysterious alien "Q" on "Star Trek: The Next Generation."
The Giant Screen Theater will reopen with daily screenings of "Dinosaurs of Antarctica 3D," which uses digital technology to imagine the lush dinosaur-inhabited landscape that existed millions of years ago at the bottom of the world, and "Superpower Dogs 3D," a documentary that examines the science behind the heroic escapades of "some of the world's most remarkable dogs."
In addition, Steven Spielberg's 1975 shark shocker, "Jaws," will screen at 4 p.m. each Saturday and Sunday through Aug. 30.
Planetarium information and show schedules are available at memphismuseums.org/planetarium/show-schedule. Theater information and movie schedules are at memphismuseums.org/cti-giant-theater/programs.