A group of frustrated residents concerned about the fate of The Egyptian Theatre is planning a march Saturday morning in downtown Coos Bay, just prior to the last scheduled performance at the 80-year-old theater.

The theater showed its last movie on Nov. 27, bringing to a close eight decades of providing a house of entertainment for South Coast residents.

A combination of swirling rumors of The Egyptian’s fate and tight-lipped ongoing property negotiations have finally boiled over.

“We’ve just been sitting and listening to so many people who are upset about what’s going on,” said Martha Houghton, 59, of North Bend who is organizing the rally. “The trouble is when something like this happens all the rumors are out there. You hear one thing and — well, it’s scary.”

Currently, the theater is owned by Ashland-based Coming Attractions Theaters. Now, instead of current movie titles gracing the marquee, there’s a “for sale” sign with a phone number to call. A North Bend theatrical company, The Little Theatre on the Bay, had been interested in purchasing The Egyptian for months — and was working with the city of Coos Bay to secure financing — but negotiations took longer than Coming Attractions was willing to wait.

The mystery enshrouding the fate of the theater — which many consider an historic and priceless landmark in the downtown area — prompted Houghton to send out a mass e-mail earlier this week asking people to arrive an hour before the annual Christmas performance set to take place at noon on Saturday.

It’s the last performance at the theater for the foreseeable future.

The original e-mail Houghton transmitted — to about 100 people — contained a healthy dose of revolutionary fervor.

“It’s time for all of us to make some history of our own, by standing up and demanding action,” she wrote. “We have no more time for dragging feet.”

However, she said after learning that Coos Bay officials appear equally concerned about the theater’s fate, she said she and others have quelled their tempers.

On Tuesday, the purchase of The Egyptian was a topic in executive session at the Urban Renewal Agency meeting, though no formal action was taken. What takes place during executive sessions is not open to the public, however, during interviews Wednesday, city officials shed more light on their intentions with The Egyptian.

“The agency and the council are very interested in acquiring the Egyptian and preserving this historical building,” said Mayor Joe Benetti. “We’re in negotiations with Coming Attractions and hopefully we can work out a deal.”

Benetti also confirmed that the Urban Renewal Agency set up a committee to handle the negotiations and hoped to meet with representatives from Coming Attractions next week.

City councilor Kevin Stufflebean, who also is on the URA, acknowledged that negotiations have dragged on for too long.

“Our problem over the last few months has been being a middle man between Coming Attractions and LTOB,” Stufflebean said. “So now we are in the position to move this forward and have it be a viable community project.”

According to Stufflebean, city staff was directed to contact Coming Attractions and initiate the negotiations.

Despite the newfound openness on the matter, Houghton, who’s been an active member of LTOB for years and who’s played a major role in the Little Old Opry on the Bay productions since the early 1980s, still plans to march on Saturday at 11 a.m. The march will begin at the Chamber of Commerce parking lot and proceed to the theater.

However, her original call for acts of civil disobedience have been tempered. She said while the talk from city officials isn’t concrete, the fact that they’re more aligned with her way of thinking has alleviated some pressure.

She sent out a revised e-mail later this week that focused more on concern for the condition of the theater and Wurlitzer organ, instead of fomenting revolutionary angst. Rather than lay blame upon anyone, she said, what’s foremost on her and others’ minds is the damage that could be done during the transition phase.

“We are concerned about the time of year,” she said. “The moisture and the cold could make short order of ruining the organ.”

Last weekend, at a gathering with friends, much of the talk centered around The Egyptian. She said people continued to bat around rumors that resulted in shared feelings of frustration and helplessness.

“People feel real possessive of this theater,” she said.

“It holds a lot of memories for them. The community cares about the theater. We want it to be preserved.”

And so, instead of stewing over the matter, Houghton said the idea for Saturday’s march was born.

“We don’t want to cause havoc but everybody wants to make a real strong statement to not let this theater down,” Houghton said, noting she can’t help but envision a Disney-ending to the saga.

“Let’s do this and get our theater back!” she said.

“I know it sounds silly but I don’t think it is. Not when I have heard the real love coming from them about this theater, the memories, what it means to them.”

At Tuesday’s Coos Bay City Council meeting, Butch Schroeder of North Bend — a musician who’s played at The Egyptian many times — said he hoped the city would find a way to keep the theater a vibrant gathering-place for the entire community.

“I hate to see it just left to the winds of chance,” Schroeder told the council.