A plan not yet realized

The Utica OD reported that the recent $20 million Stanley Center for the Arts renovation ranks high on the list of projects expected to bring about a downtown renaissance.

But since the 1928 theater reopened in spring 2008 to the St. Petersburg Ballet’s performance of “Romeo and Juliet,” the increase in the number of shows has been only one-third of what Stanley officials expected.

The number has risen from 95 pre-renovation to a projected 110 shows in 2009. That’s far fewer than the 140 annual shows expected after the Stanley expanded its stage, added dressing rooms and improved the loading dock.

Yearly attendance is even more off the mark from estimates made by theater leaders in 2005, a time when they were in the midst of raising many hundreds of thousands of dollars for the renovation from governments, local donors and other sources.

Faced with recession-weary patrons, theater officials now find themselves making numerous adjustments.

Among them:
◦Executive Director Ronald Thiele has proposed a wage freeze for the Stanley’s 21 employees. The theater is also tightening spending.
◦The Stanley plans to back off for now from presenting shows itself, an avenue it had pursued as the renovation reached fruition.
◦The theater might offer more “pocketbook-appropriate” events for local residents such as Sunday matinees.
Theater officials say they are still learning how to manage what they’ve created.

“There’s a strong sea-change in the tasking of people’s time and resources,” Thiele said. “It really creates an organizational shift that we are a performing arts center.”

The lack of significant change has disappointed some of the theater’s neighbors.

“I think the Stanley is not utilizing their capabilities to their fullest potential,” said James Loy, who owns Utica’s 257 Steakhouse. “I think they could have newer, better shows in there and bring a lot more to the downtown area than what they’ve been producing.” Read more here.