OPINION - Editorial

A crying shame

The curtain falls on The Rep

There was not one bad seat at The Rep, not one. The professional actors on stage were a badminton shot away from the farthest audience member. The tours that came through downtown Little Rock, hundreds of them, were as diverse as Spamalot and The Crucible. From Sister Act to Macbeth. From Elf to Death of a Salesman. From Angels in America to A Christmas Story.

And now, it's shut down.

It came as a shock to many of us when the email came Tuesday afternoon. The board of directors sent a message to patrons: It had closed the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. For good, we think. (That part is still up in the air.)

Most of the staff is leaving come May 8. The current season is canceled. And residents of central Arkansas who enjoyed the musicals and plays there are still agape.

Maybe we shouldn't be as surprised as all that. Officials at The Rep say ticket sales have trended down for several years now. Our reporters found a sudden steep loss in contributions and grants starting back in 2016.

"The Rep, like lots of arts organizations, struggles," said board chairman Brian Bush. "But for 42 years, we've been able to overcome whatever difficulties we might face. Today, we find ourselves with really a cash crisis. We just don't have the cash on hand to complete the season, so the board made a very difficult decision to suspend production and not complete the season."

How much of a cash crisis? Upward of $1 million.

Officials cite a "perfect storm" that led to this decision. Including costs to own its buildings, corporate consolidation and out-of-town companies that aren't as interested in local arts, etc. But there's also the competition. Little Rock's theater scene is different than it was just a year ago. The Robinson Center just had a remake, and is drawing in crowds.

Try buying tickets to The Lion King at the Robinson Center this week. Good luck. Ticketmaster has a few still on sale, but most days come with an all-caps note: NOT MANY LEFT. And for Grand Tier and Upper Tier, you're given this message when trying to buy anything left over: "No seats available." There are only so many dollars out there that folks can spend on entertainment. And only a fraction of those for theater.

Other considerations: The seemingly endless road work on Main Street in front of The Rep at 601 Main Street didn't help matters any. There are concerns about panhandlers and a need for increased police presence in the area. And maybe a heads-up a few months ago might have stimulated a call to action among theater patrons and fans that could have prevented a shutdown.

Is there any good news for The Rep and those of us who've enjoyed it? Maybe just a little. Very little. Chairman Bush says the board has put together a committee that's working on raising money and "revisioning" the theater. It's supposed to present some sort of plan by August.

Let's hope that the plan is a workable one. And The Rep comes back with something not only entertaining and professional, but sustainable, too. As The Rep's founding artistic director Cliff Baker noted on Facebook, "One thought kept me somewhat intact . . . a breakdown is a pathway to a breakthrough."

It would be such a crying shame if The Rep in downtown Little Rock really was -30- for good. Every seat in the house was a good one.

Editorial on 04/26/2018

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