Vancouver Bails out the Playhouse & Museum

[whatnext]

Seattle's Intiman Theatre closed in 2011 due to financial problems but is scheduled to reopen in 2012. its sort of equivalent to the Playhouse, but government funding doesn't play much of a part in the USA, plus they also have another group doing theatre at the Fith Avenue.

Note: if you've never seen something at the Fifth Avenue, do so, its 1920's movie house interior puts the Oprpheum to shame:

http://www.dazzlingplaces.com/Images...nueTheater.jpg

[nova9]

Let's not even talk about grants. We don't have patron-of-the-arts in this city. Perhaps because we don't have anyone THAT rich like they do in Seattle or perhaps our elite don't care about things like perpetuating their name on buildings/organizations or whatever. Or perhaps our elite's philanthropy goes to humanitarian causes rather than cultural one.

Whatever it is, I just wish there were a few patrons around to fund arts organizations - in my personal life and with some people around me, I see what happens to people when they don't have culture around them and just pure unadulterated shopping.

[trofirhen]

Originally Posted by s211

Can't speak to theatre, but their opera scene makes Vancouver's look like a high school musical.

THAT'S FOR SURE !!

[incognism]

Again, to reiterate my comments upthread, the Playhouse Theatre Company was poorly managed and over the past few years made absolutely no attempt to connect to the community at large.

While there is a strong contingent of arts supporters in Vancouver, there is an even greater amount of "casual" supporters who will show up if the material is accessible. Touring shows (Broadway Across America/Canada, Cavalia, Cirque) have had great success operating in the city. Bard on the Beach has been an outright winner over the past decade. The Arts Club (the far better run theatre company) is running three separate stages with fairly impressive attendance numbers.

The problem with the Playhouse was that in the last few seasons, for whatever reason, they decided to push their lineup to include mostly high-flautin, pretentious, artsy shows and could not captivate the casual theatre patron to spend their discerning entertainment dollars on them.

Say what you will about the Arts Club doing White Christmas and Beauty and the Beast year after year, but the money made from these tentpole shows funds the smaller, more experimental productions.

[BCPhil]

+1

[DKaz]

I've been to a few shows at the Arts Club and completely forgot that the Vancouver Playhouse existed until very recently.

[whatnext]

Originally Posted by incognism

Again, to reiterate my comments upthread, the Playhouse Theatre Company was poorly managed and over the past few years made absolutely no attempt to connect to the community at large.

While there is a strong contingent of arts supporters in Vancouver, there is an even greater amount of "casual" supporters who will show up if the material is accessible. Touring shows (Broadway Across America/Canada, Cavalia, Cirque) have had great success operating in the city. Bard on the Beach has been an outright winner over the past decade. The Arts Club (the far better run theatre company) is running three separate stages with fairly impressive attendance numbers.

The problem with the Playhouse was that in the last few seasons, for whatever reason, they decided to push their lineup to include mostly high-flautin, pretentious, artsy shows and could not captivate the casual theatre patron to spend their discerning entertainment dollars on them.

Say what you will about the Arts Club doing White Christmas and Beauty and the Beast year after year, but the money made from these tentpole shows funds the smaller, more experimental productions.

Not true, I wouldn't call La Cage Aux Folles, The Drowsy Chaperone or Dirty Rotten Scoundrels "high-flautin, pretentious, artsy shows". Though it doesn't speak well of a supposedly world class city that anything requiring actual thought won't fly on the stage. A more justifiable complaint might be that the Playhouse relied onto many one man shows as their finances deteriorated.

Another issue might be the location. Vast segments of the population no longer want to go downtown. Add to that the Playhouse micro-neighbourhood was a bit of a wasteland after dark.

Given the repeated moves forced on the company by the Olympics, surely the BC Liberals have some sort of Olympic slush fund they could have tapped into to recompense them.

[incognism]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Not true, I wouldn't call La Cage Aux Folles, The Drowsy Chaperone or Dirty Rotten Scoundrels "high-flautin, pretentious, artsy shows". Though it doesn't speak well of a supposedly world class city that anything requiring actual thought won't fly on the stage. A more justifiable complaint might be that the Playhouse relied onto many one man shows as their finances deteriorated.

Another issue might be the location. Vast segments of the population no longer want to go downtown. Add to that the Playhouse micro-neighbourhood was a bit of a wasteland after dark.

Given the repeated moves forced on the company by the Olympics, surely the BC Liberals have some sort of Olympic slush fund they could have tapped into to recompense them.

You just picked the Playhouse's best attended shows over the past three seasons. Well done. Now, how about the rest of their lineup?

The argument isn't that "anything requiring actual thought won't fly on the stage". The argument is that a well-run theatre company will know how to strike a balance between fare for the masses and deeper thinking material.

[Conrad Yablonski]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Vast segments of the population no longer want to go downtown......

Have I not read this nonsense on this forum in the past-posted by someone who sounds a lot like you?

Tell me-just when was the last time you actually ventured out after dark?

FYI-downtown Vancouver has all kinds of people strolling the streets/riding the busses/eating in restaurants/drinking in bars/going to shows large & small (depending on how much it's raining of course).

It was only a matter of time for a marginally appealing entertainment option like the Playhouse-the writing was on the wall long ago.

[jlousa]

As someone that lives downtown I partially agree with whatnext. I find most of the people downtown on weeknights are those that live downtown or have stayed after work, there doesn't seem to be many people that head downtown in the evenings after work (with the exception of an event at the stadium/arena). Weekends are a different story and downtown seems to draw a lot of younger people, the middle age bracket from outside the core does seem lacking though, even on weekends. Really think the parking rates at meters and the new hours are hurting downtown, hopefully the hours revert back to 8pm and variable pricing comes to meters for cheaper evening and weekend parking, it's surprising how many people won't park in parkades due to security concerns.

Here's hoping that something superior takes the Playhouse's place, I'm a fan of the VSO, the Opera, and have attended countless events at the QE but have only been to the Playhouse once and never felt the desire to return.

[whatnext]

Very well put.

Theatre has always drawn an older crowd. Your kids are grown, you've got a little more disposable income etc. But a lot just don't want to bother with downtown anymore. The parking cost (note the Arts Club benefits from relatively plentiful free parking evenings at Granville Island and South Granville plus fewer panhandlers). Then add in the weekend entertainment district vomitorium and attendant yahoos and it becomes even less appealing.

Shopping? Meh, there's nothing you can't get somewhere else, unless its ultra-high end maybe. Add in the growing distance middle class homeowners have to travel, and it becomes a big hassle. I know people from the burbs who probably haven't gone downtown in years and don't feel like they're missing out.

[EastVanMark]

Originally Posted by whatnext

Very well put.

Theatre has always drawn an older crowd. Your kids are grown, you've got a little more disposable income etc. But a lot just don't want to bother with downtown anymore. The parking cost (note the Arts Club benefits from relatively plentiful free parking evenings at Granville Island and South Granville plus fewer panhandlers). Then add in the weekend entertainment district vomitorium and attendant yahoos and it becomes even less appealing.

Shopping? Meh, there's nothing you can't get somewhere else, unless its ultra-high end maybe. Add in the growing distance middle class homeowners have to travel, and it becomes a big hassle. I know people from the burbs who probably haven't gone downtown in years and don't feel like they're missing out.

You hit the nail right on the head in regards to people's attitudes towards downtown. The city's obsession with small, sterile, residential development has provided no reason for anyone from the suburbs to come downtown. As you pointed out, there is almost nothing downtown that can't be found in other municipalities. Also, parking in that area, is a risky, expensive proposition. Sad, really when you consider that once upon a time, going downtown was a reason for great excitement and drew people from all over the region. Not so much anymore.

[SpongeG]

the closure has really affected JJ's restaurant at VCC - reservations are way down and hurting - a lot of the people who went to the playhouse stopped in for dinner before the shows