Image via Marcus Performing Arts Center
Rendering of Uihlein Hall following renovations
When the Marcus Performing Arts Center raises the Uihlein Hall curtain Oct. 12 for Hamilton, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s smash musical hit won’t be the only thing that will have audience members cheering.
The same emotions will flow through the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton on Oct. 27 when Wicked returns, and through Madison’s Overture Center for the Arts on Nov. 16 when Fiddler on the Roof takes the stage. After a long pandemic shutdown, live entertainment—and the much-needed revenue it brings—will have returned to Wisconsin’s premiere performing arts venues. And that will be not a moment too soon.
“According to [industry trade group] Arts Wisconsin, the creative sector adds $10.1 billion annually to the state and employs nearly 100,000 people,” said Emily Gruenewald, Overture Center’s vice president of development. “That’s a tremendous economic impact, but there’s also an emotional impact to consider.”
Gruenwald served as moderator of a virtual town hall meeting Feb. 11 that brought together leadership of all three venues for a frank discussion on the future of the arts in Wisconsin. Panelists included Kendra Whitlock Ingram, president and CEO of the Marcus PAC, Maria Van Laanen, president of Fox Cities PAC and Tim Sauers, vice president of programming and community engagement for Overture Center, which currently operates without anyone in the top leadership role.
“We were one of the first businesses that had to shut down and will probably be the last to reopen,” said Fox Cities’ Van Laanen.
Post-Pandemic Health
Assuming all goes well and the majority of state residents receive their COVID-19 injections, all three officials hope to keep those show dates. In the meantime, the venues will continue upgrading to meet new post-pandemic environmental health standards, make other facility repairs and improvements and, in the case of the Marcus Center, complete the redesign and reconfiguration of Uihlein Hall and the expansion of the center’s outdoor performance space.
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It also will give Marcus’ Whitlock Ingram the chance experience what it’s like to manage the community performing arts facility when it’s open for business. “I started my position on March 9, 2020, and by March 16 we had to close due to the pandemic,” said Whitlock Ingram, a violist who most recently served as executive director of the University of Denver’s Newman Center for the Performing Arts. “Our first six weeks were in total crisis mode.”
All three facilities took significant financial hits during the past year. The Marcus Center forfeited 90 percent of its anticipated revenue earned largely from ticket sales, as well as suffering an overall loss of 75 percent thanks to continued financial support of partner organizations, Whitlock Ingram said. Nonetheless, the venue was forced to lay off most of its staff in July.
The other venues suffered similar losses. Van Laanen said that the Fox Cities PAC was down 96 percent in earned revenue and 73 percent overall. Overture Center reported similar levels of loss, down 98 percent in earned revenue and 70 percent overall. All three venues launched fundraising campaigns, which helped offset some of the losses. Participants also acknowledged Sen. Tammy Baldwin’s work with the Save Our Stages campaign, launched by the National Independent Venue Association to raise money to combat performing arts centers’ financial losses.
Virtual Events
One bright note came thanks to results from some virtual events, which enabled the venues to reach broader audiences beyond strict geographic proximity. Fox Cities children’s programming swelled from several thousand onsite attendees in years past to nearly 46,000 virtual attendees for its online programing, Whitlock Ingram said. “The pandemic showed us there was a definitely a place for virtual programming, but not always a way to monetize that programming,” she added.
Despite the continuing financial hardship, all venue management realize that pandemic criteria has to be met before anyone can think about opening their doors. “We can’t open until the pandemic spread decreases,” Fox Cities’ Van Laanen said. “We can’t do Broadway until we can do it safely.”
Overture Center’s Sauers agreed. “We are following the CDC and my idol Dr. Fauci,” he said. “It looks like fall might be the time. And it will be an emotional time when we finally can come together again.”
