Canuck fests tune up their acts
Shaw, Stratford look to musicals to help budgets
The Shaw festival in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, is working its way through the more difficult scenario.
Its last two seasons (the first under artistic director Jackie Maxwell) have resulted in an accumulated deficit of C$4.4 million ($3.6 million), mainly due to some highly unpopular Canadian plays at the flagship festival theater.
This year, for the first time, they mounted a major musical in their largest performing space. "Gypsy" opened in early May to mixed notices, but has been drawing solid houses.
The bottom line, according to general manager Colleen Blake, is that sales are up 7%, and "although we're still a little bit behind our budgeted revenue figure, we're very much hopeful of achieving our goal of a break-even budget, thanks to 'Gypsy.' "
The larger Stratford festival for many seasons now has been relying on musicals to fill its houses, and smashes like the 2000 "Fiddler on the Roof" starring Brent Carver, or the 2002 "My Fair Lady" with Colm Feore helped tip the budget to a multimillion-dollar surplus.
But nothing since then has scored quite as well, and the past two seasons have just squeaked into the black.
Matters weren't helped this year when Ontario teachers abided by a work-to-rule action -- allowing them to work minimal hours and forgo extracurricular duties -- which decimated lucrative springtime student matinees.
Another major problem is the failure of this year's big musical, "Hello, Dolly!," to draw the crowds. Directed by Susan H. Schulman and starring fest veteran Lucy Peacock, it elicited apathy from reviewers and hasn't been generating positive word of mouth.
At one point, Antoni Cimolino, the executive director, feared this year would end with a $1.2 million deficit, but he says that figure is now down to $412,000, thanks to the solid showing at the box office from "The Tempest" (featuring Canadian icon William Hutt in his farewell performance) and "As You Like It" (in a hippie version with a score from the Barenaked Ladies.
If things continue as they've been going, Cimolino predicts that "all signs now point toward a breakeven budget."
In other words, everything may not be coming up roses at either festival, but at least they won't be singing, "So Long, Dearie."
