Omaha Theaters

[Coyote]

Curtain call


When Stages of Omaha held auditions for its August musical, "A Man of No Importance," nobody came the first night. Only five or so people showed up the second night.

The director eventually filled the 20-member cast by working the phones and calling in favors.

Finding quality actors is a common lament for metro-area stage directors, even after the recent decisions to close Stages of Omaha and the Dundee Dinner Theatre.

About 20 theater venues remain in fierce competition not only for acting and directing talent but also for an audience to fill their seats and for grant money to help pay for productions.

"There are too many theater companies in town," said Ernie Gubbels, marketing director of the Chanticleer Theatre in Council Bluffs. "Everybody is talking about it in whispers."

Compared to similar-size cities, Omaha boasts a large number and variety of community theater outlets, half of which have sprouted in the past 15 years.

Des Moines has five community theaters with annual seasons of at least four shows. Toledo, Ohio, has eight. Tulsa, Okla., has 10.

The Omaha area will have 12 full-season community theaters after Stages closes at year's end. Three college theaters and other venues that do two or three shows a year further fill the bill.

Whatever your taste, Omaha's got it: mainstream, cutting edge, original scripts, classics, children's theater, women's theater, gay theater, black theater.

That's something the Omaha Chamber of Commerce likes to tout. A strong arts scene is good for recruiting business, as well as local theater-goers.

But many directors, particularly those at smaller venues, said the number of outlets makes casting good actors tough.

Bette Swanson of the Bellevue Little Theatre remembers such weak turnout for the 2002 auditions for the musical "Applause" that the theater substituted another show.

Lorie Obradovich, the founder of Baby D, a 33-seat theater in Benson, said she's worked the phones to fill many casts.

Granted, not everybody's in the same boat. The Omaha Community Playhouse and Blue Barn Theatre, widely admired for production values and quality shows, are magnets for talent.

And actors love the choices so many venues provide.

"It's an actor's market for auditioning because there are so many shows," said Cathy Kurz, artistic director of the Brigit St. Brigit Theatre on the College of St. Mary campus.

Longtime actress Barb Ross sees another benefit: nurturing talent.

"With so many theaters, lots of new people get a chance to start and grow," Ross said. "Mixing the oldies and the rookies is good for the entire theater community."

But the reach for talented actors and directors can affect a show's quality - and attendance. Unlike the movies, where a bad show might be written off, theatergoers can be unforgiving of a venue where they saw a bad play.

"It's a chicken-egg thing," said Gubbels of the Chanticleer. "Folks would come to see better produced shows, but you can't produce a better show if you don't fill the seats."

Filling the seats could get harder in coming years.

Carl Beck, artistic director of the Omaha Community Playhouse, sees the newly opened Qwest Center, with acts like Simon and Garfunkel and Bette Midler commanding more than $100 a ticket, as direct competition for a limited pool of entertainment dollars people have to spend.

The Omaha Performing Arts Center, set to open next year, also is expected to draw audiences with world-class talent such as cellist Yo-Yo Ma.

"Every arts group in the city is feeling it," Beck said. "This city is changing drastically."

Even if small theaters fill the seats every night, that may not keep the doors open.

Ticket revenue rarely covers a show's cost. Theaters increasingly rely on individual donors, corporate sponsorship and foundation grants to pay for productions.

When the Circle Theatre opened in 1983, 80 percent of its income came from ticket sales, said executive director Doug Marr.

Now about 50 percent of income comes from ticket sales; the theater depends more on grants from the Nebraska Arts Council and other sources.

"They keep a lot of us alive," Marr said.

At Bellevue Little Theatre, which has been in business for 35 years, a little more than half of annual income is from ticket sales. The rest comes from donations, grants and fund-raisers.

Several local theater administrators said foundation and corporate giving have decreased since 9/11 and the stock market decline.

Local Target stores, for example, used to give grants. Now requests must go through the corporate office in Minneapolis, and little money finds its way to Omaha.

Some theaters have turned to other funding sources.

The Grande Olde Players started renting its space between plays for live jazz performances, the Urban Prairie Puppet Co. and Cabaret Theatre.

Like the GOP, Baby D almost closed last year because of financial and artistic struggles. Cameron Van Cleave has taken on business and marketing duties at Baby D, helping an exhausted Obradovich keep the theater open.

Since 2001, SNAP and the Shelterbelt have shared a rented space at 3225 California St., strengthening both theater companies financially.

Some local theaters are trying to grow their audience to compete with other forms of entertainment.

"You're not going to a Qwest show for $16," Gubbels said. "If you're looking for bang for your buck, community theaters have a lot to offer. It's almost become a best-kept secret. Folks down the street from the Chanticleer don't always know what's in the building."

The Theater Arts Guild, which sponsors awards, scholarships and workshops each year, is mounting a 2005 marketing campaign promoting all local theater. Plans include a Web site (theatreartsguild.com), billboards and fliers for hotels and restaurants near theaters.

Longtime theater fan Don Gibbs, who goes to London and New York at least annually for productions, likes a lot of what he sees locally.

Gibbs lamented Stages of Omaha's closing, saying it did shows Omaha wouldn't otherwise see, such as "Side Show" and "tick tick . . . BOOM."

He hesitates to move to Palm Springs, Calif., in retirement, partly because there's much more theater here.

"Omaha certainly has more little theaters than most cities our size," said Gibbs, who teaches Spanish at Creighton University. "But often the quality of shows here is unbeatable."

Omaha-area theaters

Roving companies

B&D Productions, begun 1990. Sporadic shows at the Chanticleer.
Magic Theatre, begun 1969, no shows mounted since 1997.
Little Apple Productions, women's scripts, begun 2003.
Living Picture Project, comedies, begun 2001.
Ralston Community Theater, begun 1979. Mainstream.

Other venues

Broadway in Omaha, national touring musicals, Orpheum Theater, 409 S. 16th St.
Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, Elmwood Park, begun 1987, open-air seating on the ground. Two Shakespeare plays each summer.
Theater at the J, formerly Jewish Community Theater, 333 S. 132nd St., sporadic stage productions.
Creighton University, 24th and California Streets.
Iowa Western Community College, 2700 College Road, Council Bluffs.
University of Nebraska at Omaha, 6001 Dodge St.

Now playing

Baby D Productions, 6124 Military Ave., begun 2001, seats 33. Mix of mainstream and regional premieres.
John Beasley Theater, 3010 Q St., begun 2001, seats 120. Shows with predominantly black casts.
Bellevue Little Theatre, 205 Mission Ave., begun 1969, seats 244. Mainstream fare.
Blue Barn Theatre, 614 S. 11th St., begun 1988, seats 88. Eclectic, offbeat, some classics, some original scripts.
Brigit Saint Brigit Theatre, College of St. Mary, 1901 S. 72nd St., begun 1993, seats 191. Classics and Irish works.
Chanticleer Community Theater, 830 Franklin Ave., Council Bluffs, begun 1952, seats 285. Mainstream fare.
Circle Theater, Central Presbyterian Church, 726 S. 55th St., begun 1983, seats 100. Mostly original scripts by local playwright Doug Marr.
Grande Olde Players, 2339 N. 90th St., begun 1984, seats 150. Mainstream, outreach to actors and audiences 55 and older.
Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St., begun 1924, seats 604 in main auditorium and 250 in Howard Drew. Mix of mainstream and off-Broadway.
Omaha Theater Company for Young People, 2001 Farnam St., begun 1949 as Omaha Junior Theater, became Emmy Gifford Children's Theater in 1977, became OTC at the Rose in 1994, seats 910 in main auditorium, 130 in Hitchcock Theater. Children's theater.
Shelterbelt Theatre, 3225 California St., begun 1993, seats 55. Mostly original scripts by local playwrights, some regional premieres.
SNAP Productions, 3225 California St., begun 1992, seats 55. Plays and musicals with gay themes.

Community theater count

The number of theaters refers to nonacademic, nonprofessional venues that do at least four shows a year and are within 15 miles of the city center. Population figures reflect metro area as measured by the 2000 Census.

Omaha (767,000) - 12

Tulsa, Okla. (859,000) - 10

Toledo, Ohio (659,000) - 8

Wichita, Kan. (571,000) - 5

Des Moines (481,000) - 5

[DMRyan]

It's good to see the numbers finally broken out. I've heard all about the high number of theaters in Omaha from several forumers, but it's nice to get all the numbers. Hopefully, these theater companies will find a way to remain in business. A long time and popular dinner theater in DSM closed just this year as well.

[Coyote]

Shelterbelt Theater moves to new location

[thenewguy]

whoa...20 years since the last post in this thread??

[almighty_tuna]

[thenewguy]

amen

[Garrett]

Praise be!

[almighty_tuna]

I think 20yrs may be a record.

[Brad]

I think 20yrs may be a record.

Since the forum's first post was made Jan 08, 2004, it would be hard to get much older.

[nativeomahan]

Does anyone know where this new (renewed) theater actually will be located? The story did not list an address.