ROCKLAND, Maine — The Strand Theatre is hoping someone will return its 4-foot-tall Oscar that went missing during the showing of the 2015 Academy Awards on Sunday at the historic downtown theater.
Strand House Manager Liz McLeod said Monday morning that she was reviewing security tapes but has not yet seen who walked off with one of the two figurines made of foam and covered with gold-colored paper.
The two Oscars have adorned the lobby of the Strand each year for the past 10 years for the award presentations. The Strand Theatre broadcasts the awards ceremony on its large screen.
McLeod said the statues were in the lobby at the start of the evening, but when the event came to a close, only a single figurine remained.
“Oscar didn’t walk out the door under his own power,” she said in a news release. “And we hate to think any of our patrons would be low enough to actually steal him. If someone wanted to borrow the figure for their own photo shoot or whatever, I’d have been perfectly happy to loan him out. But for a grown adult to sashay out the door with a 4-foot-tall lobby decoration tucked under their coat is aiming pretty low.
“We won’t be making a new Oscar figure to replace this one, so we’re asking whoever stole it to please return it, no questions asked,” she said. “It has no monetary value, but it’s a part of the Strand’s history.”
McLeod said she would finish reviewing security footage before deciding whether to file a police report.
Anyone with information about the theft is urged to call the Strand Theatre at 594-0070 or email info@rocklandstrand.com.