About the Sutter Creek Theatre

The Sutter Creek Theatre Today

Owned by Laura and Byron Damiani Jr., the historic Sutter Creek Theatre is a complete multipurpose entertainment center that hosts events year-round. The theatre features concerts by award-winning artists, films, theater, civic and corporate meetings, and celebrations like reunions and weddings.

A former silent film theatre, the venue comfortably seats 215 people. Because it was designed for viewing film, every seat has a view of the stage. The original art deco ceiling designs are intact and inspired our logo. We have a balcony and the original theatre seats, complete with hat racks underneath. The theatre is renowned for its excellent acoustics and intimate seating.

For traveling artists and theater groups we offer sound engineering and lighting support. We serve beer, wine, other beverages and snacks. The theatre building is also home to Heart & Soul at 42 Main, offering unique home decor, jewelry and more.

Our Mission

The Sutter Creek Theatre professionally presents contemporary and traditional music, theatrical works, dance, film, and other events that are engaging to the hearts and minds of a diverse regional audience.

Our vision

The Sutter Creek Theatre seeks to be a vital, regionally recognized theatre of true artistic merit and a business that is acknowledged as being vital to the economic health of Sutter Creek. We pursue this vision by:

• Offering a broad range of musical, theatrical, dance, film, and other performance works on our stage.
• Developing, diversifying, and increasing our audience base, both locally and regionally.
• Improving our physical facilities, including preserving the historic attributes of the theatre.
• Offering a progressive and comprehensive arts education program for young and adult audiences, and forging relationships with educational institutions.
• Establishing a nonprofit entity to support the theatre and the arts in Amador County.

A Great History: Over 100 Years

Located in the heart of the Mother Lode, the Sutter Creek Theatre has survived a tumultuous history. Its wooden predecessors rose repeatedly out of the ashes of the town's early-day fires. In the 1860s a saloon and billiard parlor stood on the site, but fires in 1862, 1865, 1868 and 1888 destroyed it and the other wooden shops there. By 1912 the site held a saloon, barber shop and bocce ball court.

Around 1912 John F. Ratto, a Sutter Creek merchant who was also the county's Hupmobile dealer, opened a silent-movie house in the 1850s brick building now known as the Bellotti Inn, across the street. Ratto then leased this site and began building a two-story brick theatre. Sutter Creek has a strong Italian influence, and architect S.F. Dal Proto built the theatre with the traditional arches and stonework found in many Italian buildings of the 18th century.

By the end of the year the (then) 250-seat theatre was practically complete, but the Spanish Influenza epidemic of 1919 closed all of Sutter Creek's public buildings and delayed the grand opening. The records have been lost, but rumor has it the theatre opened its doors on Wednesday, March 5, 1920, playing D. W. Griffith's Hearts of the World, starring Lillian Gish.

For two decades the theatre thrived. The owners lived in the large apartment above the lobby, and Mrs. Ratto played the piano and organ to accompany the silent movies. By the early 1930s talkies had replaced silent films, and the theatre thrived for another two decades. In 1952 it closed, playing Walt Disney's Bambi as its last feature.

The theatre's first renovation came in the 1970s, and later several rows of lower-floor seats were removed to install a stage. A second, major renovation ran from 2000 to 2003, and the current owners continue to upgrade and restore the building. Patrons and artists enjoy modern sound, lighting, heating and air conditioning, and restoration of the original seating continues.

Four "Ratto" theaters were built in Amador County. The Plymouth theater's location has been lost, the Ione theater was torn down for a parking lot in the 1970s, and fire destroyed the Ratto Theater in Jackson on October 14, 1998. The Sutter Creek Theatre is the only remaining original silent-movie house in the region.

Community and Partners

Voted Best Independent Theatre on the KCRA A-List, and Best Date Night Spot in Amador County.