Scott Thompson of Valparaiso is eager about reliving history tonight.

Thompson, 45, plans to be at the historic Kennedy Theatre to help celebrate the grand reopening of the movie house at 6735 Kennedy Ave. in Hammond and enjoy the big opening of the summer blockbuster "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull."

"I married a girl, Cathy Williams, that worked at the theater with the original owner, Mr Hennessey, in the early '80s," Thompson said.

"So I'm bringing my wife to the Friday opening, which will be fun."

The newest owners are husband-and-wife team Chris and Lorie Benavidez of Highland, who emphasize the livelihood of all theaters, whether old or new, depend on the support of younger generations.

The couple bought the theater in October 2007 from Lorie's brother Ron Heller and his wife Shari, Hammond residents who took over ownership in 2002 with the help of their in-laws, Chris and Nikki Companiott.

The original owners were Jack Hennessey and his wife, Betty, who had run the theater since the early the 1950s.

"Jack Hennessey had done quite a bit of remodeling in 1999 just before he died, but it was still in need of updating," Lorie said.

"So, even after we bought it in October, we kept it open and we've been remodeling little by little and preparing for this big grand reopening."

She said the remodeling included plenty of repainting and even a few new seats.

"We wanted to give the place a retro look but not change too much about what patrons loved most about coming here while growing up."

She said some of the most faithful regular customers who heard about plans to install new seats complained.

"People told us they love the old, rocker-style of seats and even threatened to stop coming if we removed them," Lorie said.

"But the reason we wanted to add at least a few new seats is because the old seats have such high backs, little kids can't see the screen over them."

Striking want Lorie calls "a happy medium," they installed 40 new "shorter" seats near the front of the theater and left the remaining 250 seats untouched.

The space also continues to boast the exclusive 22 "skybox seats," which will now feature a new "first come, first served" option that offers guests who pay $10 the chance to enjoy that seating area as well as unlimited pop and popcorn.

"We've worked hard to keep our promise to make new movies affordable, so all regular tickets are now priced at $5 any time and any day," she said.

The theater also has a new broker for booking movies, which means the Kennedy will screen all the latest studio releases shown during opening weekends.

"With this new distributor, we are back to advertising our movies in the newspaper and, best of all, we can now book our films well in advance," Lorie said.

"So, for example, we already know what we'll be showing through July, and people can check out the newspaper and plan their weekends in advance. So guests can enjoy the latest films, like the new 'Batman' film right here and know it will be an affordable and fun experience."