photo by Dan Bishop
Real estate. How do you escape it? Mortgage crises in the news. Foreclosures down the street. Turn on the TV and it’s “House Hunters” and “Curb Appeal.”
It’s enough to make you seek out a concert or a play to escape into the world of stories, ideas, music.
But art needs a place with curb appeal, too. And in the Milwaukee arts community these days, there’s no escaping the crazy game of musical chairs, of buying and selling, renting and moving.
Today, Milwaukee’s major arts groups are solidly attached to their venues. The Milwaukee Ballet, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Florentine Opera continue to uneasily share Uihlein Hall – a generally good fit for all, but a great match for none. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater continues at its complex, the envy of many American regional theaters for its integrative design that links all the elements of theater production under one roof.
But for other arts groups, changing audiences means more significant changes in infrastructure and, yes, real estate. While the big kids are playing in their mammoth treehouses, Milwaukee’s mid-level arts groups are down on the ground, improvising, planning and teaming up to make the most out of the limited playground at their disposal.
The issue of performance spaces is not new to Milwaukee. Groups set up shop, lose leases, move on. Every decade or so, a new facility materializes. Uihlein Hall, the cathedral of the city’s major arts groups, has been the subject of considerable conversation about acoustics and size since it opened 40 years ago. Even after the theater’s $26 million facelift in 1997, there is still a longing among some arts groups and patrons for a smaller space.
But today, there’s more activity in performing arts real estate than we’ve seen in a long time. And while space concerns affect the first-tier arts groups, the mid-tier organizations are facing challenges that are sure to be a catalyst for growth – or at least change – in the near future.
Cutting across genres, arts groups are being forced to adapt – sometimes because of their own success, and sometimes through no fault of their own. And size (and space) matters – to the audience as well as the arts groups. The bricks and mortar of a theater can direct the artistic choices available to a group. One of the first questions any performer or artists asks is, “Will this piece work in this space?”
But the plans on the drawing board right now will mean big changes in the arts landscape in the near future.
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Other than the Milwaukee Rep, almost every professional theater group in Milwaukee has called the Third Ward its home at one time or another. It started in 1993, with the unveiling of the Broadway Theatre Center, now the artistic home to four different companies that use the center’s two very different spaces. The 358-seat Cabot Theatre, the home venue for the Skylight Opera Theatre, is acclaimed for its playful “jewel-box” design. While not a perfect space by any means, Skylight Artistic Director Bill Theisen says it serves his organization well. “The Cabot can be a challenging space,” he says, “but I’ve learned a great deal about it, and it functions pretty well for us. The intimacy is such a treat. It’s quite different from going to see a big old musical at the Marcus Center.”
But intimacy is in the eye of beholder. Chamber Theatre’s Michael Wright, who produces three plays there each season, is struggling to find a way to shoehorn his theater’s mission into its two performing spaces. Opera houses like the Cabot are not the best venues for “chamber theater.” Standing in front of the Cabot stage, Wright looks up into the theater’s upper balconies. “For me, ‘chamber’ means ‘intimate,’ ” he says. “How do you keep this space intimate? How do you fill it with a show?”
In the other Broadway space, the 99-seat Studio Theatre, Wright talks about other issues. The low ceiling makes set and lighting design difficult. It also limits the slope of the seating area, making it hard for people to see over the seats in front of them. Uncomfortable seats, limited legroom. The Chamber Theatre performs two shows there each season, but some patrons refuse to attend them, he says.
“I love the idea of a studio theater if it means that the feeling is intimate and everybody has a good seat,” he says, “but that’s not the case here. My ideal space would be 150 to 170 seats.”
Even with these drawbacks, the 99-seat “black box” is used by Renaissance Theaterworks, Milwaukee Shakespeare, the Skylight and the Chamber Theatre. Other than summer months, when no one wants to produce a show, the space is completely booked. And the theaters are close to outgrowing it.
Julie Swenson admits that her Renaissance Theaterworks lost a few subscribers due to the Studio’s uncomfortable seats. But its shows enjoyed 92 to 98 percent capacity this season. “We’re OK with a 99-seat theater,” she says. “For now.”
Milwaukee Shakespeare’s Paula Suozzi, who produces two of the company’s three plays in the Studio, likes the artistic challenge of a small space. “It creates obstacles that help invigorate the imagination.” And the close quarters fit her aesthetic of “intimate” Shakespeare, “where the speech stops being declamatory and the audiences feel like they really know the characters.”
At the same time, she admits, “fiscally, there is nothing about that that makes sense.” To accommodate the hundreds of students who come to productions, and to sell enough regular tickets to support the actors (while allowing the company to be less reliant on generous donors), Suozzi thinks a 250-to-300-seat house would be ideal.
Of course, that companies continue to use a less-than-ideal venue suggests a bigger issue: the lack of appropriate theater space in Milwaukee.
But a solution is not as simple as it sounds.
“The Broadway Theatre Center is owned by the Skylight,” says Skylight Managing Director Eric Dillner, who came to the Milwaukee via Shreveport, La., in March. “We prefer that people see us as an artistic organization, but in reality the building facility is a huge part of our life here.”
So improving the Studio Theatre must be balanced with the reality of a $200,000 sidewalk repair, a $300,000 upgrade to the air conditioning, and other building issues.
Recently, the Broadway began hosting monthly “tenant meetings” to talk about building and management issues. And the Center has brought in planners and architects to discuss how to move ahead with updating the building. Still, an open question is whether it will include an expansion of the Studio Theatre.
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A few blocks north at the Off-Broadway Theatre, David Cecsarini is dealing with the challenges of being a tenant rather than an owner. He’s the artistic director for Next Act Theatre, which is now in the fourth year of its second five-year lease. If it remained there, the theater would have had to pay true market rates for the space – for Cecsarini, an untenable prospect. So Next Act will leave its home, one of the most comfortable small venues in the city, for a new space by 2010.
But the need to move is not completely unwelcome. “I’ve always believed that the Off-Broadway is an interim space,” says Cecsarini, “because 100 seats just won’t do ya.” Next Act had a strong year last season – all shows except one sold to near-capacity. The receipts surely would have been greater had the space been larger. Cecsarini has been looking at spaces in the Fifth Ward, and envisions a place possibly with a restaurant or gallery space. “Our strategy has always been modesty,” he says. A 150-seat space would be ideal.
There are possibilities out there. Ask Chris and Jane Flieller of In Tandem Theatre. After leading a nomadic existence for several years, they’ve finally found a home in the basement of Calvary Presbyterian Church: The Tenth Street Theater, a no-frills but very comfortable space well-suited for In Tandem’s productions.
They’re happy to be there. For years, In Tandem operated as a local road show of sorts, splitting its season among different venues around the city. Now it’s among the few smaller theater companies in town that has a permanent home, a huge advantage. Its audiences know where the plays are. The theater can schedule and cast shows well in advance because it can tell royalty companies the dates of the run and capacity of the theater. It can hold rehearsals and build sets on stage and store materials in the same building. “I’m too old to be hauling our crap around,” says Jane Flieller. “It’s nice to be under one roof.”
But for a group like Present Music, which has different demands than a theater company, a home space isn’t necessarily a high priority.
“We love being nomadic,” says Eric Lind, managing director of PM, which likes to explore new spaces for concerts. “It fits well with our interest in community collaboration and adventurous programming.” This year, the group will add Turner Hall, Discovery World and the Milwaukee Youth Art Center to its list of venues, which in the past has included the Milwaukee County Zoo and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
If you’ve been to a Present Music event, you know that its approach is working. Given its relatively esoteric field (contemporary art music), the group’s large, diverse audiences are remarkable, a success that is clearly tied to the venues and the way PM turns its concerts into multifaceted events.
The tradeoff? Lind is the first to admit that some of the venues are acoustically challenged – most notoriously, the marble-clad atrium in the Art Museum, where the drop of a quarter can compete with what’s happening on stage. But by emphasizing the overall concert experience, Present
Music has created a significant success story in the community.
Richard Hynson also has been thinking about the appeal of alternative spaces for classical concert music. As the leader of two ensembles – the Bel Canto Chorus and the recently resuscitated Milwaukee Chamber Orchestra – Hynson is used to performing in a variety of settings. With the Bel Canto, he takes the music to where his audience is, performing in north shore and west suburban locations like the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center, the Cedarburg Cultural Center and area churches.
Faced with the challenge of finding a home base for the MCO (which took a hiatus for several years because of financial matters), he opted to forego the formal setting of Schwan Concert Hall at Wisconsin Lutheran College for Calvary Presbyterian, just upstairs from In Tandem. “Schwan is very nice,” says Hynson, “but it doesn’t have the free-wheeling atmosphere I wanted.”
At Calvary, Hynson can position the audience around the orchestra and get them close to the music. He can also serve wine and allow them to sip right along with their Stravinsky. “The formalities and rituals of a classical concert are a little off-putting,” he explains. “I’d like to break down the barriers between the public and the performers, and Calvary is great for allowing those edges to blur.”
Frank Almond, concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, prefers Schwan, calling it “one of the top chamber music venues in the area.” Almond uses Schwan for his Frankly Music chamber series, along with the recital hall at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music. While he’s happy with these venues, he still pines for an alternative.
“Milwaukee is kind of a quirky place in that there’s no venue for smaller arts groups located Downtown,” he says. “It would be great to have a centrally located hall with 400 to 500 seats.” Often, major concert halls have medium-sized chamber music venues attached to them, Almond notes, pointing to Seattle’s Benaroya Hall or Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center (named for the former MSO conductor). “There’s a real motivation to create a performing arts center other than Uihlein Hall. That’s something that’s been tossed around for 15 years now, something that can revitalize the Downtown area both economically and culturally. But, of course, it’s a huge investment and poses lots of questions.”
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While she may not be thinking on the scale of a major cultural center, Deborah Farris dreams of a space that could one day be a home for performing artists. As executive director of Danceworks, Inc., Farris helped turn a small building at 1661 N. Water St. into a hub for dance groups. Despite its small size, or perhaps because of it, the 85-seat Danceworks venue is one of the busiest in town. It hosts everything from nationally known companies to emerging artists trying out a new work to thesis projects by UW-Milwaukee dance majors. The same space also serves as a classroom and rehearsal hall. And its surrounding offices contain Danceworks’ administrative staff.
“We’ve outgrown it,” says Farris. “Our lease is up in 2011, and our strategic plan has us in a new facility by then.”
And like other groups, Danceworks is looking for a medium-sized space, between 200 and 250 seats. “It costs more and more to produce work, and an audience is more and more challenging to build because of the trends within the culture,” she says. “A theater that size would be really important to the community.
“We need something very flexible that can be utilized all day with rehearsals, workshops, whatever,” adds Farris, who’s looking for “strategic partners” to join in the venture, “not just a fancy theater that’s used for two hours a night.” That kind of versatility could help the space sustain itself by bringing in earned revenue.
She might find an admirable model in the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center, the latest arts-related building to go up in the city. A joint project of the First Stage Children’s Theater and the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, MYAC turned the city’s largest existing clear-span building (a former garage for the Schlitz brewery) into a multipurpose arts facility. Its five rehearsal halls all have sprung floors for dance and curtains to control acoustics for theater and music. The acoustics in the main rehearsal hall are so good that the MSO uses it for rehearsals when Uihlein Hall is unavailable.
“When we started planning, the economy was in a slump,” says Rob Goodman, First Stage managing director, “so we waited to launch a capital campaign. Instead, we spent a lot of time at the planning table, a lot of time with the architects … talking about how we would use the space and what we really needed.”
Spend some time here, and it’s hard to argue with the building’s success. Buzzing with activity throughout the day and night, the place brings a variety of artists, students and performers together in their separate pursuits, but all under one roof.
First Stage and its partners raised $12 million to build and maintain MYAC. That’s a daunting number for mid-sized arts groups, particularly given the economic climate ahead. Which is why arts leaders are thinking outside the box as they imagine the future of their companies. The capital campaigns may be revving up soon, but it’s the planning and collaboration behind the money that can make a difference. With the myriad challenges facing the performing arts these days, imagination and creativity is just as important in the executive office as it is on stage.
Paul Kosidowski is a frequent contributor to Milwaukee Magazine. Write to him at letters@milwaukeemagazine.com.
Big Productions, and a few small ones, from the Big Four
Milwaukee’s major performing arts groups are staying put for now, but their seasons this year reflect some interesting changes in artistic direction.
Faced with declining revenues in the past few years (this year it was $300,000 in the red), the Milwaukee Repertory Theaterwill trim the number of performances in its flagship Quadracci Powerhouse Theater, attempting to keep the house fuller at each show. Tim Shields, managing director of The Rep, says the theater will “maintain itself in this format for the foreseeable future.” The Rep will not cut the number of plays in the Quadracci season, or shy away from its signature large-scale productions – opening with the 1940s political satire State of the Union, and including adaptations of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice and Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard. But it will feature two one-person shows in its season, including The Blonde, the Brunette and the Vengeful Redhead, a vehicle for resident actress Deborah Staples, and I Am My Own Wife, the acclaimed 2003 play by Doug Wright in which one actor plays close to 40 roles.
The Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is simultaneously in anniversary and transition mode, with the final year of Music Director Andreas Delfs coinciding with the orchestra’s 50th anniversary. It’s a ripe time for the Big Event, and the MSO will bring in superstars Itzhak Perlman and Renée Fleming for special concerts. For his swan song, Delfs has picked one of the biggest “events” in the repertoire, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony of a Thousand (his Eighth for those of you scoring at home), so called because its debut literally featured more than 1,000 performers. For Mahler junkies, incoming Music Director Edo de Waart will conduct Mahler’s Fourth in the fall. And don’t miss some interesting contemporary programming, including a George Gershwin/Duke Ellington double bill, and an entire concert devoted to former MSO composer-in-residence Roberto Sierra.
The Florentine Opera continues to stretch its repertory beyond the usual opera warhorses, this year dipping back into the Baroque with a production of Handel’s Semele. “Baroque opera has gone from being a curiosity to becoming a staple of the opera repertory,” says the Florentine’s William Florescu. To accommodate the smaller scale, the group will stage the piece at the Pabst Theater, redesigning an innovative take on the work by British director John La Bouchardiere.
The Milwaukee Ballet is also shifting away from familiar classics, presenting three repertory programs this year instead of the usual two. Artistic Director Michael Pink is excited about presenting six world premieres this season. But he’s also limited in choosing full-length ballets for the company – there simply aren’t that many works with good production values out there. Recently, the group has secured funding that will help the company create more of its own full-length works, a move that Pink calls “the next logical step.” The ballet has scored a coup with Fancy Free by Jerome Robbins, who just received a 100th anniversary season at the New York City Ballet. Robbins’ estate keeps a tight rein on his repertory, and Fancy Free’s modern, jazzy style should be a crowd pleaser.
2008-09 Fine Arts Guide Season Highlights
ART:
Jan Lievens: A Dutch Master Rediscovered:
Another Put-Milwaukee-on-the-Map show, this retrospective promises to resurrect the reputation of the eclectic 17th-century Dutch painter, draughtsman and printmaker. Lievens knew Rembrandt and shared a studio with him for a time (he even painted a portrait of him). But the pair’s close ties caused confusion in art history circles. This show sorts things out, and makes a claim for Lievens’ significance and talent. It will originate at the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., and travel only to Milwaukee and Amsterdam. Another coup for MAM Curator Laurie Winters. Feb. 7-April 26. Milwaukee Art Museum, 700 N. Art Museum Dr., 414-224-3200, mam.org.
THEATER:
All the Great Books (abridged): In Tandem Theatre is sure to score a palpable hit with the Reduced Shakespeare Company’s version of a Mortimer Adler seminar, parsing 83 books of the Western Canon in less than 100 minutes. Shakespeare and the Bible have their own shows, but this one includes Little Women (narrated John Madden-style), The Brothers Karamazov, and a take on Jane Austen, George Eliot and Virginia Woolf (here known as Bachelorettes No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3). Great fun for both audience and actors. Oct. 9-26. Tenth Street Theatre, 628 N. 10th St., 414-271-1371, intandemtheatre.com.
The Persians: Everything old is new again. Typically drawn to the intimate and contemporary, Renaissance Theaterworks revisits one of the West’s oldest plays in a new translation by Ellen McLaughlin. Aeschylus’s tragedy describes what happens to the world’s most powerful nation when it extends its armies too far in the interest of global conquest. Hmmm. Oct. 10-Nov. 2. The Studio Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, 414-291-7800, r-t-w.com.
Henry V: Milwaukee Shakespeare concludes its cycle of “Rebel & King” series with
director Stephen Fried, who helmed the fine 1 Henry IV in 2006. With battles galore, the “band of brothers” is happy, but hardly a few. The troupe stages the piece in the Marcus Center’s Vogel Hall. Feb. 7-15. Vogel Hall in the Marcus Center, 929 N. Water St., 414-747-9662, milwaukeeshakespeare.com.
The Daly News: When Michael Wright took over the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, one of his first moves was to initiate a play development program to nurture local talent. Hurray! Here comes The Daly News by Jonathan Gillard Daly (below),a show that’s been percolating for almost a decade. An autobiographical musical about Daly’s family during World War II, it’s inspired by a newsletter written by his grandfather to keep the family connected. Nov. 13-Dec. 14. Studio Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, 414-291-7800, chamber-theatre.com.
I Do!, I Do!: In a season full of big, brash crowd-pleasers (La Boheme, The Producers), this 1966 musical duet might be a hidden gem on the Skylight’s roster. Written by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, it chronicles the trials and tribulations of a married couple – from courtship to wizened old age. We’re guessing that Skylight veterans Norman Moses and Leslie Fitzwater will give it some heart and dazzle. Jan. 30-Feb. 15. Cabot Theatre at the Broadway Theatre Center, 158 N. Broadway, 414-291-7800, skylightopera.com.
DANCE:
Trey McIntyre Project: You might remember McIntyre’s breezy and beautiful Second Before the Ground on the Milwaukee Ballet’s 2007 season-closer. The talented mid-American choreographer returns to town, this time with his own company, which was launched as a full-time touring ensemble just this summer. Nov. 1. Kuttemperoor Auditorium, Wilson Center for the Arts, 19805 W. Capitol Dr., 262-781-9520, wilson-center.com.
Eiko & Koma: The meditative, primal performances of Eiko and Koma Otake were all the avant-garde rage in the 1990s, when the duo built dances that dealt with birth, death and other elemental ideas. Known for their site-specific works – the most memorable: Offering, performed in 2002 within sight of New York’s Ground Zero – the duo draws on ancient and contemporary Japanese traditions to create events that are intense and wholly original. Oct. 18. Pitman Theatre at Alverno College, 3431
S. 39th St., 414-382-6044, alvernopresents.alverno.edu.
The Bra Project and A Guy Thing: Two Danceworks concerts look across the gender divide. Kelly Anderson (above) seems to be channeling the outrageously playful wit of former Danceworks Artistic Director Sarah Wilbur with this evening-length “revealing history of the bra,” but we’re guessing she’ll have her own spin. Ed Burgess brings a group of men to the usually women-centric Danceworks space to showcase his brand of athletic mischief. Bra: Jan. 30-Feb. 1. Guy:March 6-8. Danceworks Studio Theater, 1661 N. Water St., 414-277-8480, danceworks1661.org.
MUSIC:
Sound Brain: The imaginatively itinerant Present Music ensemble expands its list of venues this year to include Turner Hall and the Milwaukee Youth Art Center. Pier Wisconsin’s Discovery World will offer the technical wherewithal to present a “hyperscore” by Tod Machover, a composer/tech-wiz who devotes his time at MIT’s Media Lab to ideas about “hyperinstruments” and the “Opera of the Future.” Here, his piece will allow audience members to compose something on the spot. The concert also features a world premiere by Wisconsin native Ryan Carter. Feb. 21. Discovery World at Pier Wisconsin, 500 N. Harbor Dr., 414-271-0711, presentmusic.org.
Amsterdam Loeki Stardust Quartet: This recorder ensemble, hitting the road to celebrate its 30th anniversary, can do more with the simple toots and tweets than you ever thought possible. A Milwaukee favorite brings more hardware (or is that woodware?) in tow than The Rolling Stones. Well … almost. Early Music Now hosts. March 14. Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd., 414-229-4308, earlymusicnow.org.
17 Hippies: The cavernous Pitman Theatre at Alverno College can sometimes overwhelm even the most spirited tooters, bangers and plinkers. But Germany’s raucous ensemble (below) will challenge the Art Deco venue to the ultimate musical smackdown – and surely win. At last year’s Global Union world music festival, the group wowed the outdoor throngs with a take-no-prisoners blend of Klezmer, Weimar oompahs and gypsy flourishes. Jan. 17. Pitman Theatre at Alverno College, 3431
S. 39th St., 414-382-6044, alvernopresents.alverno.edu.
Branford Marsalis: Said to be rededicating himself to classical music (after dinking around with all that silly jazz stuff), the saxophone half of the Marsalis brothers offers a tribute to the Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, who died 50 years ago this year. Marsalis brings along a chamber orchestra culled from the Filharmonia Brasileira to back him up. Oct. 22. Kuttemperoor Auditorium, Wilson Center for the Arts, 19805 W. Capitol Dr., 262-781-9520, wilson-center.com.
SPECTACLES:
Titanic: The Artifact Exhibition.
Refusing to become a mere excuse for a James Cameron movie or Celine Dion song, the Titanic disaster continues to assert its place in American mythology as its hundredth anniversary draws nigh. Today, it’s both the ultimate example of technological hubris and a seductive porthole into a world of extreme wealth. This traveling show is courtesy of RMS Titanic, Inc., a division of Premier Exhibitions, Inc. Who says looking for buried treasure is a thing of the past? Opens Oct. 10. Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St., 414-223-4676, mpm.edu.
Cirque du Soleil’s Saltimbanco:
Continuing its quest for world domination, the Montreal nouveau circus arrives in Milwaukee for the first time with one of its earliest shows, Saltimbanco, which has been retooled for arenas (it used to come with its own tent). Full of technical wizardry, Francophile pretentiousness and first-rate circus acts, the show also purports to be “an allegorical and acrobatic journey into the heart of the city,” that is “inspired by the urban fabric of the metropolis.” Yo! I gotcher “urban fabric” right cheere! Oct. 1-5. Bradley Center, 1001 N. Fourth St., 414-227-0400, ticketmaster.com.
