How to Save the American Mall — With Live Theatre

Once upon a time, the shopping mall was a kind of Mecca. A pleasant place for people to congregate with convenient access to all kinds of shops, restaurants, and kiosks. Bookstores, clothing stores, cobblers, toy and game stores, all packed together with several massive anchor chains — Macy’s, Sears, JC Penny, and more. Teenagers would flock to the mall to hang out and spend their excess cash, while seniors would go several times a week, if only to walk the circuit of the mall’s interior for exercise.

Today the story is very different. Shopping malls are suffering. Amazon and other online retailers have upped the convenience game, delivering necessities and frivolities directly to the customer’s door. Movie theatres, once a staple of the mall, have all moved out to command larger spaces with more screens. And due to vulture capitalism and poor management, even Sears is facing bankruptcy.

What malls have going for them now are two things. First, they still hold stores that cater to a specific demand — an Apple Store for when your iPad is on the fritz, a cobbler when you want your boot re-soled. These will always be in demand, as few of us want to mail our footwear or electronics off to a faceless corporation for repairs.

Second, the hold experiences, most notably, restaurants. From high end dining to Sbarro…