The reopened Wildey Theatre in Edwardsville is unleashing its most ambitious bit of music programming yet with a classic rock series that kicks off Saturday night with Rare Earth.

It's part of the Wildey's effort to attract more visitors from the Edwardsville area and beyond, positioning it as a featured destination for concerts, movies and nightlife, theater manager Craig Leitner says.

"We feel like we have a place among the family of theaters in the St. Louis area," he says. "We offer things that will be of interest to people in St. Louis, and we like introducing people to Edwardsville."

The unaware will begin to see that with the rock series. Also on tap are the Ozark Mountain Daredevils (8 p.m. Thursday and Jan. 20), Leon Redbone (8 p.m. Feb. 10), Little River Band (8 p.m. Feb. 15-16), Hotel California "A Salute to the Eagles" (8 p.m. March 9) and Pure Prairie League with Brewer & Shipley (8 p.m. April 13-14).

The Ozark Mountain Daredevils is the biggest-selling act of the bunch. One of the band's two shows is almost sold out. Redbone is expected to sell out as well. Hopes are also high for the Pure Prairie League and Brewer & Shipley shows, which mark the one-year anniversary of the theater's reopening.

The theater is offering shows through single ticket sales as well as a subscription series. Single ticket prices range from $35 to $65 for shows.

Leitner says the theater will look into other music series as well, including jazz, classical, blues, world music and a children's series.

The Wildey, which had been closed for 27 years, reopened April 12 with a sold-out Pure Prairie League and Brewer & Shipley concert.

Last year, the Wildey hosted more than 200 events and 18,000 visitors.

"Those are good numbers," Leitner says. "We're trying to accomplish as much as we can, and we've done well given that it's a new venture. It takes time for people to adjust to it, adapt to it and embrace it."

Leitner says every event is a learning experience.

"There's no telling what will work and not work," he says.

What he's seen thus far is that classic movies such as "Casablanca," "Singing in the Rain," "To Kill a Mockingbird" and "Gone With the Wind" are big hits with audiences.

"There's no other theater like this showing classic movies on the big screen," Leitner says.

But movies of today such as "Inception" and "The Dark Knight" are a different story.

"None of them have done well," says Leitner, who has learned that movies do well in the cold months, but not so much in the summer. "Some concerts are great, and some concerts are slightly embarrassing when you have a small audience."

The theater also has done well with such things as showing the World Series on the big screen, as well as other live sporting events.

"There are good ways to introduce the theater to audiences," he says.

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Rare Earth

When 8 p.m. Saturday • Where Wildey Theatre, 252 North Main Street, Edwardsville • How much $35-$65 • More info wildeytheatre.com