Broadway & Beyond Series will return next spring
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FILE — Midland Center for the Arts employees Sam Johnson, left, and Nicole Toth, right, manage the ticket office for customers waiting to see the production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Center Stage Theatre and The Midland Symphony Orchestra in April of 2016. (Theophil Syslo/Daily News file)
lessFILE — Midland Center for the Arts employees Sam Johnson, left, and Nicole Toth, right, manage the ticket office for customers waiting to see the production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Center Stage
... more
FILE — Midland Center for the Arts employees Sam Johnson, left, and Nicole Toth, right, manage the ticket office for customers waiting to see the production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Center Stage Theatre and The Midland Symphony Orchestra in April of 2016. (Theophil Syslo/Daily News file)
lessFILE — Midland Center for the Arts employees Sam Johnson, left, and Nicole Toth, right, manage the ticket office for customers waiting to see the production of The Mystery of Edwin Drood at the Center Stage
... moreMidland Center for the Arts is looking to the future – working to ensure long-term sustainability through the COVID-19 pandemic and envisioning the time when patrons can come back to experience captivating performances on its stages.
The center has announced the return of one of its most popular series, the Broadway & Beyond Series, which will kick off in March 2021 with subscriptions sales beginning June 23, 2020. The Broadway & Beyond Series is a highlight of the center’s upcoming 50th anniversary season and the spring timeframe offers an opportunity to look to the future. Running from March–July 2021, it will start with the 25th anniversary show of Riverdance in a powerful reinvention of the original production; followed by Rodgers & Hammerstein’s timeless classic, South Pacific; a brand-new Broadway musical based on the Oscar-winning film, An Officer and a Gentleman; and closing with Sara Bareilles’s uplifting and hilarious hit, Waitress.
This lineup joins the previously announced Midland Symphony Orchestra series, which is scheduled to begin with two performances in the fall, starting with Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations. The orchestra events will be live- streamed and have alternative program and performance options as needed based on the public health situation. All subscribers to the center will have extra flexibility to change and cancel tickets should circumstances change.
“Our staff and community have responded to new realities by being creative and flexible in making and participating in different types of programs,” said Midland Center for the Arts President and CEO Terri Trotter. “Not being able to gather is the opposite of what we do, but we are continuing to explore innovative opportunities online. We are also excited for the time when we will be safely back in the theater to enjoy talented artists, beautiful experiences and the pleasure of one another’s company.”
In addition to the return of more traditional programming, the center is developing new in-person and online events to entertain, educate and connect people this summer and into the fall. More programs are being added with the following already confirmed:
• Joshua Davis, Michigan native and star from The Voice, will headline a live outdoor concert on July 18.
• Talented local actors from Center Stage Theatre are participating in a weekly Facebook Live event every Friday evening called Shakespeare and Chill in which the Center is performing all 36 Shakespeare plays.
• The first-ever virtual Michigan Musical Theatre Intensive, which provides an opportunity for aspiring young local artists to learn from Broadway professionals, is wrapping up this week.
• MATRIX:Cinema Reel Talks launched this week and is an on-going Wednesday evening summer program offering online gathering and movie discussions led by local guest hosts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has been economically devastating for the arts and entertainment field as large-scale indoor gatherings will be limited for the foreseeable future. Broadway in New York is currently closed through Labor Day and its opening at that time is in question. Touring Broadway during the fall is likely to be non-existent, putting countless performing arts centers across the country in economic peril. Midland Center anticipates ticket sale revenue to be 50-75% lower in the coming year than in previous years. In addition, the organization faces nearly $9 million in damages from the devastating flood that affected its multiple facilities. The Center for the Arts remains without full power due to damages to the electrical and HVAC systems, while the Midland County Historical Society and museums at Heritage Park need significant repairs. This is the backdrop from which the
Center is charting its future.
“We know that that the next 12-18 months are going to look very different than originally planned, but with challenge comes opportunity,” noted Stephen Carras, chair of the Center’s Board of Directors. “Part of ensuring the Center’s success over the long term is facing current realities and adapting to them while being creative, flexible and nimble. Our board is partnering with the staff to reimagine how we conduct business, how we interact with our visitors and how we plan for the future, including assessing the flood damage and considering repairs and replacements that will be even better than what we had. It will be a long road, but the Center will come out in a good position, continuing to be a vibrant cultural destination for our region.”
Center board and staff are working together to steward the organization to ensure its ability to both weather the COVID-19 pandemic and recover well from the flood. The Center secured a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program which, along with careful fiscal planning, enabled it to retain its full staff since closing its doors on March 20. That loan has now been fully utilized. A variety of cost-saving measures have been implemented including prudent reduction of expenses while maintaining community focused programming; pay reductions for senior leaders; the implementation of temporary part-time furloughs for several staff members; and realignment of teams to redistribute work and build additional competencies. As part of the team realignment and fundamental changes to programming, the Center also eliminated nine positions at all levels of the organization, including the executive level, to streamline the organization and better position it to be effective and efficient in the future.
Flood damage assessment and repairs are still underway. The Center is working with an engineering team to evaluate the damage to the electrical and HVAC systems in the main building, seeking options to not just repair but upgrade both systems. Simultaneously, work to restore damaged artifacts from the history collection is ongoing and repairs and potential upgrades to the historical site are in the works.
The Center continues to rely on the support of donors, sponsors and foundations who contribute approximately 30% of the budget each year.
“We are grateful to our audiences, members, subscribers and donors – thank you for your belief, trust and support,” Trotter said. “The continued value of the Center in the community, shown by those donations and purchases, is inspiring. While this is not the anniversary season we expected, we remain excited to celebrate our 50th season as we look forward to the bright future ahead.”
– Processed by Victoria Ritter, vritter@mdn.net
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