April 16, 2008
The St. Louis Rep: Change, change and more change.
The first time I saw a woman "strip" was on a large stage with hot lights and hundreds of other people around me, including a few of my best friends (at the time). She went by "Gypsy" and had fun playfully beleaguering the men in the audience.
Seeing the musical "Gypsy" was probably the first time I had stepped into the Loretto-Hilton Center, home of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis. It was 2002 and a rare field trip during a normal school day. It was exciting because I didn't have school. The main stage didn't have that much of an impact on me. I was told to appreciate the acoustics and the voms and that there would be a quiz on the show interior of the theatre.
There was never a quiz.
Let's fast forward a bit. It's late 2003 and I'm touring Webster University with a bum ankle and the Loretto-Hilton Center has chairs. Thank you! My mom had parked nearby, so we opted to end the tour early... But not without a good rest for my ankle in the lobby. I looked around, appreciated the spacious entry way and wondered what they did with all the food from that very morning, since the campus tour was just one part of an all day campus event for potential students. That day I decided Webster felt like a homey campus. That day I filled out an application.
I had the priviledge of moving into the dorms a week early. For anyone who has helped with a move-in day on campus, you will know how relieved I was. This was August of 2004. Because I had time, I wandered around the Loretto-Hilton Center. The doors were unlocked to the main stage. I looked around, but I didn't step foot on stage. I sat in the theatre for a few minutes before leaving, trying to get a sense of the building.
That needs explaining.
During high school, the auditorium we used for our drama productions was a piece of junk. But it was an awesome piece of junk, if not a little smelly. The third floor of the three story building was condemned and the second floor wasn't looking too good. The fire escapes looked like Death would look if Death were a fire escape. The actual stage wasn't too bad if you missed the nail heads from a past production that didn't get hammered into the floor all the way. Backstage was a mess, as were the dressing rooms.... well, they were more like dungeons. The building would sigh. He was an old man, just waiting for his time to get condemned, much like his sister elementary school.
And here I am in the Loretto-Hilton Center. She (felt like a she) is aging gracefully and still full of life. I like her. The professional productions on her main stage attract a diverse group of patrons, sometimes as interesting as the shows itself. For the past four years I've appreciated the diversity and memories that the theatre has given me.
It was upsetting to learn that the Rep wanted to move locations. Since 1966, she has been home to many Rep productions. I'll admit that I wasn't devastated by the news. My exact reaction was, "Really? I wonder why they would want to go to the trouble of having to move all over again..." I get discount tickets to all the Rep shows for being a student. I enjoy that perk. But I'm also graduating in May, which means I graduate to full price tickets. Let 'em move. It's not going to affect me much. Right? I'd like to think.
One of the attractions of WU's Conservatory is the fact that the Rep makes their home in the Loretto-Hilton Center. Because of this, they have a dead period in their season. The main stage is not used strictly for the Rep, but also for a couple student productions and a few other things. There's a lower stage, the Emerson Theatre, that both the Rep and the conservatory uses. Compared to the 763-seat main stage, the Emerson holds 125 people and is the very definition of intimate theatre. There isn't a horrible seat in the main stage theatre, but the left and right wing seats do make it where you are staring at the back ends of the actors for some of the time.
The officials at the Rep, they want to move for good reason. For four and a half months a year they can't hold shows in the theatre because of other organizations using the building. As a business move, I see their desire to change perfectly acceptable... almost. From the stories I've read, I gather they want to construct a new building, which would be around the same size as the Loretto-Hilton Center. Their new facility could potentially go in the Grand Center arts and entertainment district.
New York has Broadway, St. Louis has Grand Avenue.
But seriously.
What is it about Webster that warrents such a change? There's plenty of parking (because they block off lots specifically for the Rep) and a few restaurants in the area to have a decent dinner. It's all intimate-like, akin to the normal theatre experience (unless you're at the Fox and then it's just an"I'm sitting next to a sweaty man who looks uncomfortable in his sweater vest, I should have brought opera glasses..." experience). The convenience of not having to deal with school politics would be attractive, yes, that I do believe.
Whatever their choice, I can't be angry. Whenever the Rep does get its own facility, the rules can change. The schedule they maintain is strict. The freedom gained from moving is certainly attractive, from a business point of view. More shows, more money. More advertising, more money.
WU officials said that they support the Rep with whatever decision is made. That’s to be expected, for the bridge between the two would be a large one to burn. The students who are aware of the potential move are confused and wanting to know what’s going on, but the news has died down about it. Not many seem to voice an opinion aobut it these days. I’ve become apathetic over it. Maybe it’s the looming graduation ceremony talking...
This all makes me wonder, though, about the annex. A small building on the campus was demolished last year, the music annex, and in its place is nothing but a green lawn. It housed pianos, drums and practice rooms for music students. It was an ugly building, which one could see from the lobby of the Loretto-Hilton Center. Officially, it was said that it was old and cost too much maintain. The rumor on campus was much different. The building, an eye sore, was supposedly torn down because people of the Rep didn’t like it and we had this big new Community Music school with rooms to spare. So why not get rid of it? That’s strictly my speculation, though. I tend to think it was because yes, it wasn’t very pretty and maybe it did cost money that could go elsewhere.
To be honest, this whole business with Rep, it sort of confuses me.
From the Platform: Repertory Theatre considers moving to Grand Center