Multi-theater complex

Editorial
One of the beauties of Downtown Minneapolis is that it has a cultural and historic heart. Unique to the stretch of Hennepin Ave are three historic theaters that have been actively programmed on and off since the early 1900s and are currently under the wing of Hennepin Theatre Trust. Hennepin Theatre Trust, the non-profit owner of the State, Orpheum and Pantages Theatres, engages in an unusually broad range of programming. Annually, the Trust presents touring Broadway engagements, an array of concerts, dance, comedians, literary figures and explorers/lecturers that serve vastly different audiences. And, we’ve worked with local theater organizations such as The Jungle Theater, the Chanhassen, the History Theater and Theater Latte′ Da to bring local productions to the Hennepin Avenue stages. Annually, nearly 500,000 people visit the Trust’s facilities each year. Given this diverse range of programming and the large number of people we serve, how does the Trust decide its programming: what are the considerations that drive our admittedly far-flung choices about what we put on stage? First, a little background on Hennepin Theatre Trust may be in order. At the end of 2005, Hennepin Theatre Trust assumed from the City of Minneapolis all the responsibilities of owning the State, Orpheum and Pantages Theatres. The City wanted to free itself of the responsibility for maintaining and operating these facilities (and the related debt service on approximately $20 million in revenue bonds), while simultaneously ensuring that the theaters were preserved as community assets, continuing their role in a vital Downtown. The City’s goals express themselves in annual requirements that the Trust hosts a minimum number of events and attracts a minimum number of patrons. In other words, the Trust is required by its agreement with the City to produce a lot of work and sell a lot of tickets. Also consider that without an endowment but with a multi-million dollar organization and 5800 seats to fill, we have to be even more sensitive to overall ticket receipts. Against this back drop, decisions about what we will present are based on our belief that our programming should reflect the broad and diverse interests of our community.

Broadway

Of course, Broadway touring productions are perhaps the most visible of Trust activities. These engagements, like Wicked, The Lion King and The Phantom of the Opera, for example, often have a large national presence. In addition, these shows have large marketing budgets and are included in subscription season. In essence, the public is made aware of these shows at least twice: once as part of our season and again during our single ticket sales campaigns. And the revenues from our Broadway engagement have historically been used to help us underwrite our other programming. (However, as deal structures between producers and presenters have evolved, it has become much more difficult for the Trust to count on Broadway as a source of revenue. As with other performing arts organizations, ticket sales proceeds, even robust ones, are not enough to ensure our overall financial success.) Decisions about which Broadway shows we book can be complex. After Broadway producers decide which shows will tour and the premiere city is selected, an intricate process known as “routing” begins. The routing of touring productions is like a jigsaw puzzle in that everything must fit together; if one thing changes, it can throw off the entire tour schedule. Distance between destination cities, relative size of the marketplace, time of year, and theater availability all influence the routing process. Fortunately, the Twin Cities have such a stellar reputation in the theater community that it is rare for a touring production to skip the area. And at the Trust, we advocate strongly to producers that Minneapolis be included early in each tour schedule. We also try to place Broadway touring productions on our theater calendar before other productions to minimize conflicts between our theater availability and the tour’s routing schedule. In addition, the Trust determines on a local level whether a given show is both artistically worthy and financially viable; these are two factors, believe it or not, that do not always work in tandem. Blockbuster shows such as Wicked are an easy call; the show has high production values, a significant national presence, and an undeniable, broad-based following. Our recent engagement of Spring Awakening, on the other hand, was a stunning production artistically, but in booking it we understood that it could be a more challenging production economically, given its edgier subject matter and less familiar identity. While this engagement performed about as I expected, it was not a financial blockbuster.

Broad mission

But if all we did was produce Broadway, no matter how artistically or financially successful, the Trust wouldn’t be fulfilling its mission. We also present a wide range of live music, comedy and dance. These engagements range from well-established to relatively new, emerging artists. Our programming decisions are especially eclectic because this is how we serve our patrons. We have presented Hollywood comedian Kathy Griffin, the Irish Riverdance troupe, singer-songwriters Gordon Lightfoot and Kris Kristofferson, cutting edge artists like Antony and the Johnsons and classical leaning groups like The Ten Tenors. Will there be an audience? Are our facilities the best place to present them? What are the costs of the engagement and what is available on our calendar? Thankfully, especially in terms of age, we have a diverse workforce that enables us to follow both established names and emerging artists as their careers form and identify those ready to move “up” to our stages. Tim and Eric Awesome Show was a conversation topic in our office with our younger staff for so long that it resulted in our booking them. The Trust also looks for opportunities to engage the community in new or surprising ways. We recently worked with The Loft Literary Center to create the Literary Legends Series, which featured poet Mary Oliver, presidential historian David McCullough and humorist and author David Sedaris, among others. We want to help nurture a broader interest in literature and offer an opportunity for non-theater goers to experience the magnificent State Theatre. To accomplish our objectives, we sought out well-known authors that would have broad public appeal. After just one year, we’re committed to continuing presenting authors, but also need to think through how to expand our audience for these events. Can we, for example, get the Broadway theater-goers to come back for a reading with Stephen King?

And local too

You may also have noticed that we have worked with several local theater organizations, like The Jungle Theater, The Chanhassen and Theater Latte′ Da. Typically, we work with them to remount a production that has had a successful prior run, so, one, we have seen the show in its earlier incarnation. Then, from that experience, we assess whether the show has artistic merit, and if there is a broader audience that can justify the time and expense of remounting it. Finally, we need to determine whether we can create a financial relationship that works for both parties, with a fair allocation of the financial risks and rewards. A local remount must be capable of finding a substantially new audience to be successful; we cannot simply rely on repeat visitors “plus a few more.” Obviously, considering our size and mandate, financial impact is always a consideration in programming decisions, but economic and artistic merit do not carry equal weight. On several occasions, we have presented an artist who we felt was absolutely essential for Twin Cities’ audiences to experience. For instance, Elaine Stritch, in her solo performance of Elaine Stritch: At Liberty, was a phenomenal presentation by an outstanding artist who would not likely tour again. The artistry involved drove us to present this show despite knowing that it would be a challenge; we viewed this as a natural extension of our community engagement and education programming. The State, Orpheum and Pantages Theatres are among the Twin Cities best known landmarks on one of our City’s oldest streets, and Hennepin Theatre Trust programs these historic theaters to play a continued role in the vitality of Downtown, balancing our obligations to the city and our long-term stewardship of three historic buildings with our desire to provide diverse programming and engage hundreds of thousands of visitors each and every year.
Headshot of Tom Hoch
Tom Hoch
Tom Hoch is President and CEO of Hennepin Theatre Trust. While working with the Minneapolis Community Development Agency, Hoch oversaw the restoration of the State Theatre and acquisition of the Orpheum Theatre. He also initiated the effort to restore the Pantages, served as Deputy Executive Director for the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority, and was an attorney and a teacher.