Bill Hanney, owner of Entertainment Cinemas, has purchased the now-closed Theatre-by-the-Sea in South Kingstown, and says he plans to reopen it.

The Providence Journal / Gretchen Ertl

Things change, and sometimes for the better. To confirm that, all you have to do is drive to Matunuck, where at a disused set of buildings on Cards Pond Road, you can read the signs — and smell the scents — of good things about to happen.

The complex housed Theatre-by-the-Sea, one of the crown jewels of Rhode Island summer entertainment until FourQuest Entertainment shut it down almost four years ago. Now it sits empty, paint peeling from a window frame above the porch that leads to the box office.

A locked gate has been drawn across the entrance to the parking lot. Around the shuttered box-office window, you can still see a performance schedule and ticket prices for the 2003 season, offering a long-expired chance to see Chicago or The Secret Garden.

No-trespassing signs warn that violators will be prosecuted.

But you can see other signs, too. Just a few feet from one warning, “Closed for the 2006 Season,” is another that boldly proclaims, “SOLD.”

The yellow tape across the steps to the box office says, “Caution: Wet Paint.” And, in fact, the steps look freshly painted, white stripes at the edges offset their battleship gray to warn patrons to take care.

The hedges seem a little shaggy, but peering through them you can see that the lawn has been recently mowed, and the little gazebo where champagne was served on opening nights is still standing. You can glimpse the flowers of the theater’s glorious gardens, their white, pink and purple blossoms blooming.

Even better, you can smell their heady perfume all the way to the side of the road.

BILL HANNEY, owner of the Entertainment Cinemas movie theaters, including the ones at South Kingstown’s South County Commons shopping center, bought the place on Tuesday, and plans to reopen it — perhaps even this summer, according to published reports.

That would be terrific, if he can pull it off in the time available. When FourQuest owned it, Theatre-by-the-Sea used to have all of its casting done by March.

Hanney’s coming in pretty late to stage anything before Labor Day. But stranger things have happened.

And whether it’s this summer or next, won’t it be great to see the 73-year-old theater’s stage — where such stars as Judy Holliday, Mae West, Groucho Marx and Marlon Brando once performed — alight again.

I’m too young to have seen any of those greats, but I’ve spent many happy evenings in the former barn, watching top-flight productions of shows such as Jekyll and Hyde and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. (And a few less wonderful productions, too, but those don’t bear recalling.)

I liked the intimacy of the 500-seat theater, which put you close to the action from just about anywhere. It wasn’t air-conditioned, but ocean breezes, screen doors and big ceiling fans usually kept the temperature under control. And the rustic atmosphere made it a whole different experience from the gilded splendor of PPAC or the city cool of Trinity Rep.

HANNEY COULDN’T be reached for comment yesterday. But it didn’t take much to see that the news of the sale had spread.

As I stood at the edge of the property, Bob Gardner came driving up a private road that runs next to the theater, fresh from a visit with his brother. He paused to ask if I was involved with the new owners, and expressed his pleasure at the way things had turned out, considering all the rumors about the property’s possible use that had spread in the years it was on the market.

“We’re just glad it’s going to be a theater, not an Indian casino,” he said.

While we chatted, another car stopped, on Cards Pond Road, and Carolyn Craig of nearby Green Hill took a brief break from delivering Meals on Wheels.

“Good news! It’s sold!” she said through her car’s open window. “Next summer, let’s have a show!

“We’re looking forward to lots of wonderful plays here.”

Me, too.

arosenbe@projo.com