July 19, 2011 in News by Eric
NOLA Defender: THE DEAL IS THE THING
From NOLA Defender, By Jim Fitzmorris.
I will get right to it: The Dickie Brennan Restaurant Group’s offer to Le Petit Theatre du Vieux Carre is the best and only serious deal on the table to save the beleaguered theatrical institution. I am neither spokesman for the board nor the Brennan’s, have no future plans for employment at Le Petit, and like many, am concerned about the artistic quality of what will come after the deal is done. However, as someone who has an insider’s knowledge of how large non-profit institutions function, I believe the Brennan’s offer is not only great for theatre in this town but also a coup for the city itself. It ends the uncertainty about the theatre’s financial future, creates a first class facility where crumbling infrastructure once stood, and sets the table for something remarkable: a nationally renowned institution. The alternatives are a perpetual state of triage, a tragic fire sale, or, more insidiously, a crypto-transformation into a for-profit venture that serves only a small group of unseen investors. Those alternatives are the topic of another conversation, so for today, I will focus on the cards already on the table.
Financially, the Brennan offer is a double infusion: a partial purchase and an upgrade. The first inflow is the purchase itself. 3 million dollars gives the Brennan Group control of 60% of the building, including the majority of the 1960s addition that houses the beloved Teddy’s Corner Children Theatre. They would use their purchase to create a turn-of-the-century restaurant with a direct thematic tie-in to the theatre. A fully stocked bar replaces the old lobby and is accessible to audiences waiting for the show or relaxing at intermission. That bar leads into a main dinning room and above that, kitchen, offices and private rooms inhabit the second floor. The attic would become a shared space for both the eatery and theatre. For Le Petit, this purchase immediately retires the mortgage, pays off all vendor debts, and creates the theatre’s first seven-figure endowment. The purchase returns the building to the organization, allows for various upgrades to the theatrical space, and gives the board the financial capability to begin the process of hiring those who can plan for the theatrical future of the theatre.
The second financial boon comes in the form of renovations and upgrades to the complex. The Dickie Brennan Restaurant Group plans to invest an additional 3 million minimum for the improvement to the facility. Along with transforming the smaller theatre into a fully functional two-story restaurant, the upgrades will include a complete renovation of the complex’s structural envelope that will include, but not be exclusive to, weatherization, structural integrity, and patron comfort. All rotting floors will be repaired, all leaky roofs patched, and numerous faulty pipes and dangerous wiring will be mended. Fire codes, handicapped access, and termite infestation will all be addressed. While many improvements on the theatre side are the responsibility of Le Petit, most of the Brennan upgrades will lift both boats. In a little under a year, a deeply flawed building with more than a few unusable areas will house a completely renovated theatrical center. Furthermore, it will be the home of a continually operating business run by one of the most respected restaurateurs in the nation.
Essentially, in order for the play to be the thing, the money has to be there. We are talking about a deal close to 7 million in overall investment. On a financial basis alone, it is a powerful offer. However, the benefits do not end there. The building will instantly become a part of the Brennan’s family of restaurants. Patrons attending the other establishments will be reminded of and encouraged to attend the shows playing at Le Petit. The theatre’s productions will become a part of the Dickie Brennan Restaurant Group’s promotional apparatus. That arm of its organization has a national presence that can only benefit the theatre. Every person who sits for a meal or a drink at St. Peters will instantly be aware of the theatre and become a potential patron. Despite all the sniping from certain corners about another restaurant in The Quarter, the establishment will bring light and life to a quiet corner. It will increase foot traffic and energize nightlife on that side of Jackson Square. At the most basic level, St. Peters and Chartres will never go dark. Given the recent gloom that has permeated the location, that alone is an upgrade.
It is time to stop pussyfooting around and face some facts about not-for-profit theatre. Those organizations are not run on boffo musical extravaganzas, piecemeal rentals, force-of-personality, or boutique children shows. And they are not run on historical tradition. Ticket revenues make up less than 45% of most non-profit theatrical entities. Individual donations and grants make up another portion of the funding, but the real capital comes from large organizations: government subsidy, corporate sponsorship or a large independent educational program. Sympathetic government administrations and a single benefactor built the Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Humana helped transform Actors’ Theatre of Louisville into new play powerhouse, and numerous nationally recognized children’s theatres have created vast self-sustaining educational organizations that serve grades K through 12. Due to cultural considerations, government indifference, and educational failings, those models are not options in New Orleans at this time.
In case you had not noticed, and many New Orleans theatre enthusiasts seem not to, this country is crawling out of the worst economic downturn since The Great Depression. The money simply is not there. And when it is, it is not going to theatre. The local, state and federal governments are tapped out, corporations hold onto nickels like they were dollars, and specialized children shows in small theatres do not an educational program make. In lieu of the aforementioned avenues, the only remaining model was an infusion of cash from a business partner. In Dickie Brennan, Le Petit found an investor who could guarantee there would be no bait-and-switch that would snatch Le Petit’s building for its own purposes. This proposal is neither wait-and-see nor kick-the-can; it is a clear plan of action that accepts the on-the-ground realities. If you actually think there is another model that can work, please take a look at the tragic events at The Intiman Theatre, Borderlands Theatre, and Florida Stage. You will see how theatre is faring outside of Broadway. Ask any of those groups how they would feel about what Dickie Brennan is offering. After that, show me the model of fiscal responsibility that does not involve pocketed mortgages and shadow investors, and I will be willing to listen.
By: Jim Fitzmorris
