New season for 'Game Night' screenings

Red Sox players will hit the big screen again in two weeks, but this time the team won't have to share the spotlight with ''Fever Pitch" stars Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon.

The team said yesterday that it is continuing last year's partnership with area cinemas and cable companies to broadcast 20 games live in movie theaters with high-definition capabilities.

Tickets go on sale today for what's being billed as ''Game Night," and screenings start on April 19 at Showcase Cinemas in Randolph, Revere, West Springfield, and Worcester, and at Providence Place Cinemas in Providence.

''Clearly there is great demand among our fans, and this is an alternative way to view the game if you cannot get to the park but would like an evening out with the family to cheer on the team," said Doug Bailey, a Red Sox spokesman. ''You can't see 50-foot tall players anywhere else."

This season, fans can watch almost twice as many games on the big screen as were shown last summer. National Amusements, which runs Showcase Cinemas, said it plans to add more theaters by June after additional high-definition technology is installed. The new locations will be disclosed later this month.

The program is being expanded after last year's screenings drew big crowds to theaters, which averaged at least 80 percent capacity at the showings. The Red Sox and National Amusements expect even greater fan interest now that the Red Sox are the reigning World Series champions.

Tickets for the Tuesday-night games cost $7 -- up $2 dollars from last year but still $5 less than the cheapest seats at Fenway Park in the upper bleachers. When the Red Sox face off against the Yankees on July 14 -- the only Thursday night game the cinemas will broadcast -- prices will jump to $10 a ticket.

''It's just a matter of what the demand dictated," Bailey said.

Bailey said the price increases are helping to offset the cost of installing high-definition technology at several theaters.

Brian Callaghan, a spokesman for National Amusements, said companies or other groups can rent the high-definition theaters for private functions on other game nights. The revenue from ticket sales is shared by National Amusements, the Red Sox, and New England Sports Network. And a portion of every ticket is donated to the Red Sox Foundation: Last year's ticket sales raised about $30,000 for the charity.

''I don't think anyone saw this as a huge moneymaker," Bailey said. ''But it is a way to drive more traffic into the theaters on the weekdays."

Fenway Park may offer bright lights and the smell of freshly cut grass, but fans say the movies feature air-conditioning and cushioned seats. The theaters try to offer a touch of Fenway with concession carts selling beer and pizza and vendors roaming the aisles hawking hot dogs. Peanuts were not a big seller in the dimly lit theaters, Callaghan said, and they will not be offered this season.

At some theaters last year, fans even started singing ''Take Me Out to the Ball Game" during the seventh-inning stretch.

''It's like a fake Fenway," said Wesley Jardim, a Marshfield resident who watched a game last year at Showcase Cinemas in Randolph. ''You go there and a whole bunch of people are cheering like they're at the game. It's pretty great."

Jenn Abelson can be reached at abelson@globe.com.